Sidelink angular-based and sl rrm-based positioning

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for localizing a target user equipment (“UE”) sidelink (“SL”) positioning includes a processor configured to cause the target UE to receive from a sidelink configuration source SL positioning reference signals (“SL PRS”) assistance data associated with SL reference signal transmissions e.g., beam transmissions, transmitted from one or more SL signal transmitting devices. The target UE receives transmitted SL signal information from the one or more SL signal transmitting devices and performs SL signal angle of arrival (“AoA”) measurements or SL reference signal received power (“SL RSRP”) measurements for deriving angle of departure (“AoD”) mapped to the received SL RSRP measurements or performs SL radio resource management measurements (“SL-RMM”) for determining an estimated location of the target UE using SL-AoD, SL-AoA, SL-RMM positioning techniques or combinations thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/063,854 titled “Sidelink Angular-Based And SL RRM-BasedPositioning” filed on Aug. 10, 2020, U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/063,836 titled “Sidelink Timing-Based Positioning Methods” filedon Aug. 10, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/063,824titled “Apparatuses, Methods, And System For SL PRS TransmissionMethodology” filed on Aug. 10, 2020, which applications are incorporatedherein by reference to the extent permissible under relevant patent lawsand rules.

FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to wirelesscommunications and more particularly relates to sidelink (“SL”)angular-based and SL radio resource management (“RRM”)-basedpositioning.

BACKGROUND

In certain wireless communication systems, Radio Access Technology(“RAT”) dependent positioning using 3GPP New Radio (“NR”) technology hasbeen recently supported in Release 16 of the 3GPP specifications. Thepositioning features include Fifth Generation (“5C”) network corearchitectural and interface enhancements, as well as Radio Access Node(“RAN”) functionality that support physical layer and Layer-2/Layer-3signaling procedures to enable RAT-dependent positioning methods for theUu interface in LTE and NR. However, various existing systems lackadequate positioning features for sidelink interfaces.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Disclosed are a signaling and measurement framework for configuring andperforming angular/range-based and SL-RRM NR sidelink (SL) methods,which enable sidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning. Thisdisclosure provides multiple features to enable sidelink angular-basedand SL RRM-based positioning.

An apparatus is disclosed for localizing a target UE in a communicationnetwork using sidelink (“SL”) positioning, the apparatus including atarget UE that includes a processor, memory, and program code executableby the processor to cause the target UE to: receive from a sidelinkconfiguration source multiple SL PRS assistance data associated withmultiple SL signal transmissions that serve as reference signaltransmissions such as beam transmissions, antenna panel transmissions,or combinations thereof, transmitted from one or more SL signaltransmitting devices. The apparatus may receive the SL reference signaltransmissions from the one or more SL signal transmitting devices andmay perform SL signal angle of arrival (“AoA”) measurements of thereceived SL reference signal transmissions and may perform SL referencesignal reference signal received power (“RSRP”) measurements forderiving angle of departure (AoD) calculations mapped to the received SLRSRP measurements for determining an estimated location of the target UEusing SL AoD or SL AoA positioning techniques or combinations thereof.

A further apparatus for a communication network for localizing a targetUE includes a target UE that includes a processor, memory, and programcode executable by the processor to cause the target UE to perform oneor more sidelink (“SL”) radio resource management (“RRM”) measurementssuch as measurements of: physical sidelink broadcast channel (“PSBCH”)reference signal received power (“RSRP”), physical sidelink sharedchannel (“PSSCH”) RSRP, physical sidelink control channel (“PSCCH”)RSRP, SL channel-state reference signals (“CSI-RS”), SL synchronizationsignals (“SLSS”), and combinations thereof. In various embodiments, inresponse to being configured for UE-based SL range-based positioning,the target UE determines its estimated location based on the selectedRRM measurements. In some embodiments, in response to being configuredfor UE-assisted SL range-based positioning, report the selected RRMmeasurements to an LMF configured to estimate the location of the targetUE based on the reported RRM measurements.

A method for sidelink based positioning of a target UE in acommunication network, is disclosed. In some examples, the methodincludes sidelink angular-based positioning techniques that may includeSL AoA positioning, SL AoD positioning, or combinations thereof, and asecond set of sidelink positioning techniques based on SL-Radio ResourceManagement (‘RRM”) measurements, where the first sidelink positioningtechnique that is SL angular-based includes: receiving a plurality of SLPRS assistance data associated with a plurality of SL signaltransmissions that serve as reference signal transmissions and areselected from beam transmissions, and antenna panel transmissions, orcombinations thereof, transmitted from one or more SL signaltransmitting devices; receiving the SL reference signal transmissionsfrom the one or more SL signal transmitting devices; and performingconfigured measurements selected from: SL angle of arrival (“AoA”)measurements of the received SL reference signal transmissions fordetermining an estimated location of the target UE using SL AoApositioning techniques; SL reference signal received power (“RSRP”)measurements for deriving angle of departure (AoD) calculations mappedto the received SL reference signal transmissions for determining anestimated location of the target UE using SL AoD positioning techniques;and combinations thereof.

The present disclosure addresses various deficiencies of existingsolutions and lack of functionality in C-V2X positioning by providingangular/range-based SL positioning. The disclosed SL positioningtechniques also provide high accuracy depending on the scenario andradio environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more particular description of the embodiments briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only some embodiments and are not therefore to be considered tobe limiting of scope, the embodiments will be described and explainedwith additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication system for sidelink (“SL”) angular-based and SL RRM-basedpositioning, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a 5G New Radio (“NR”) protocol stack, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of NR beam-basedpositioning, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating downlink (“DL”)time-difference-of-arrival (“TDOA”) assistance data in accordance withone or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a DL-TDOA measurement report, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example procedure for user equipment(“UE”)-assisted SL-AoD and/or AoA positioning with one or more UEsserving as reference nodes, in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example scenario of UE-based SL-AoDand/or AoA positioning with one or more UEs serving as reference nodes,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating user equipment (“UE”)-assisted SL radioresource management (“RRM”)-based positioning with one or more UEsserving as reference nodes, in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a capability signalingexchange for SL-AoD and/or AoA positioning, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an assistance datasignaling exchange for SL-TDOA and/or SL-RTT, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a user equipment apparatus thatmay be used for sidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram a network equipment apparatus that may beused for sidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a method forsidelink angular-based positioning using AoD and/or AoA in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for SLRRM-based positioning in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of theembodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, or programproduct. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects.

For example, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as a hardwarecircuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration (“VLSI”) circuitsor gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips,transistors, or other discrete components. The disclosed embodiments mayalso be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as fieldprogrammable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logicdevices, or the like. As another example, the disclosed embodiments mayinclude one or more physical or logical blocks of executable code whichmay, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function.

Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a program product embodiedin one or more computer readable storage devices storing machinereadable code, computer readable code, and/or program code, referredhereafter as code. The storage devices may be tangible, non-transitory,and/or non-transmission. The storage devices may not embody signals. Ina certain embodiment, the storage devices only employ signals foraccessing code.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium may be utilized.The computer readable medium may be a computer readable storage medium.The computer readable storage medium may be a storage device storing thecode. The storage device may be, for example, but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic,micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the storage devicewould include the following: an electrical connection having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory(“RAM”), a read-only memory (“ROM”), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (“EPROM” or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (“CD-ROM”), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible mediumthat can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Code for carrying out operations for embodiments may be any number oflines and may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages including an object-oriented programming language such asPython, Ruby, Java, Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language,or the like, and/or machine languages such as assembly languages. Thecode may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (“LAN”) or a wide area network (“WAN”), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics ofthe embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the followingdescription, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples ofprogramming, software modules, user selections, network transactions,database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardwarecircuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however,that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. Inother instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of anembodiment.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases“in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughoutthis specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the sameembodiment, but mean “one or more but not all embodiments” unlessexpressly specified otherwise. The terms “including,” “comprising,”“having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,”unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of itemsdoes not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive,unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the”also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise.

As used herein, a list with a conjunction of “and/or” includes anysingle item in the list or a combination of items in the list. Forexample, a list of A, B, and/or C includes only A, only B, only C, acombination of A and B, a combination of B and C, a combination of A andC or a combination of A, B and C. As used herein, a list using theterminology “one or more of” includes any single item in the list or acombination of items in the list. For example, one or more of A, B and Cincludes only A, only B, only C, a combination of A and B, a combinationof B and C, a combination of A and C or a combination of A, B and C. Asused herein, a list using the terminology “one of” includes one and onlyone of any single item in the list. For example, “one of A, B, and C”includes only A, only B or only C and excludes combinations of A, B andC. As used herein, “a member selected from the group consisting of A, B,and C,” includes one and only one of A, B, or C, and excludescombinations of A, B, and C.” As used herein, “a member selected fromthe group consisting of A, B, and C and combinations thereof” includesonly A, only B, only C, a combination of A and B, a combination of B andC, a combination of A and C or a combination of A, B, and C.

Aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference toschematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams of methods,apparatuses, systems, and program products according to embodiments. Itwill be understood that each block of the schematic flowchart diagramsand/or schematic block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theschematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams, can beimplemented by code. This code may be provided to a processor of ageneral-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart diagramsand/or block diagrams.

The code may also be stored in a storage device that can direct acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devicesto function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe storage device produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchartdiagrams and/or block diagrams.

The code may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatuses,or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that thecode which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatusprovide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in theflowchart diagrams and/or block diagrams.

The flowchart diagrams and/or block diagrams in the Figures illustratethe architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of apparatuses, systems, methods, and program productsaccording to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in theflowchart diagrams and/or block diagrams may represent a module,segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executableinstructions of the code for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s).

It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in theFigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalentin function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portionsthereof, of the illustrated Figures.

Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in theflowchart and/or block diagrams, they are understood not to limit thescope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or otherconnectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the depictedembodiment. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoringperiod of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depictedembodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagramsand/or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and code.

The description of elements in each figure may refer to elements ofproceeding figures. Like numbers refer to like elements in all figures,including alternate embodiments of like elements.

General Overview

Generally, the present disclosure describes systems, methods, andapparatuses for sidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning.More specifically, the present disclosure discloses an improvedsignaling and measurement framework, e.g., for NR, for enabling sidelinkpositioning using angular (e.g., AoD, AoA) and/or range-basedSL-RRM-based NR sidelink (SL) RAT-dependent and RAT-independentpositioning techniques.

Radio Access Technology (“RAT”)-dependent positioning methods such asTDOA, RTT, angle of departure (“AoD”) and cell identifier (“CID”), andU-UTRAN cell identifier (“E-CID”) have been specified for the Uuinterface in Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) and Third GenerationPartnership Project (“3GPP”) New Radio (“NR”). Similarly, thesepositioning techniques show high potential for application in sidelink,although there currently exists no specified methods to realize suchimplementations in 3GPP. Furthermore, aspects of sidelink positioningwhich beneficially should be addressed may include determining use casesand requirements for sidelink positioning which in existing systems maynot be adapted for sidelink, e.g., in vehicle-to-everything (“V2X”),public safety, commercial services as well as potential operationscenarios and design considerations in the topics of network coverage,including in-coverage and out-of-coverage conditions; Candidatefrequency bands; Usage scenario and deployment of UEs, RAT-dependent andRAT-independent positioning, and hybrids; mobile-based (performed by UE)and mobile-assisted (performed at least partial by LMF) sidelinkpositioning; absolute and relative positioning; and architecture.

Another feature of SL positioning is that it enables relativepositioning, which may be beneficial for location estimation in mobilevehicular scenarios. For example, relative positioning is a performancerequirement in the horizontal accuracy of devices in industrial internetof things (“IIoT”) environments where flexible and modular assemblyareas are required in a smart factory setting.

The present disclosure aims to tackle this problem and lack offunctionality in cellular V2X (“C-V2X”) positioning by developingangular-based and/or SL-RRM based mechanisms to perform SL positioning.The proposed SL positioning techniques aim to provide high accuracydepending on the scenario and radio environment.

FIG. 1 depicts a wireless communication system 100 supporting sidelinkangular-based and SL RRM-based positioning, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the wirelesscommunication system 100 includes at least one remote unit 105, a radioaccess network (“RAN”) 120, and a mobile core network 140. The RAN 120and the mobile core network 140 form a mobile communication network. TheRAN 120 may be composed of a base unit 121 with which the remote unit105 communicates using wireless communication links 115. Even though aspecific number of remote units 105, base unit 121, wirelesscommunication links 115, RANs 120, and mobile core networks 140 aredepicted in FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art will recognize that anynumber of remote units 105, base unit 121, wireless communication links115, RANs 120, and mobile core networks 140 may be included in thewireless communication system 100.

In one implementation, the RAN 120 is compliant with the 5G systemspecified in the 3GPP specifications. In another implementation, the RAN120 is compliant with the LTE system specified in the 3GPPspecifications. More generally, however, the wireless communicationsystem 100 may implement some other open or proprietary communicationnetwork, for example WiMAX, among other networks. The present disclosureis not intended to be limited to the implementation of any particularwireless communication system architecture or protocol.

In one embodiment, the remote units 105 may include computing devices,such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants(“PDAs”), tablet computers, smart phones, smart televisions (e.g.,televisions connected to the Internet), smart appliances (e.g.,appliances connected to the Internet), set-top boxes, game consoles,security systems (including security cameras), vehicle on-boardcomputers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, modems), or thelike. In some embodiments, the remote units 105 include wearabledevices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounteddisplays, or the like. Moreover, the remote units 105 may be referred toas the UEs, subscriber units, mobiles, mobile stations, users,terminals, mobile terminals, fixed terminals, subscriber stations, userterminals, wireless transmit/receive unit (“WTRU”), a device, or byother terminology used in the art. In various embodiments, the remoteunit 105 includes a subscriber identity and/or identification module(“SIM”) and the mobile equipment (“ME”) providing mobile terminationfunctions (e.g., radio transmission, handover, speech encoding anddecoding, error detection and correction, signaling and access to theSIM). In certain embodiments, the remote unit 105 may include a terminalequipment (“TE”) and/or be embedded in an appliance or device (e.g., acomputing device, as described above).

The remote units 105 may communicate directly with one or more of thebase units 121 in the RAN 120 via uplink (“UL”) and downlink (“DL”)communication signals. Furthermore, the UL and DL communication signalsmay be carried over the wireless communication links 115. Here, the RAN120 is an intermediate network that provides the remote units 105 withaccess to the mobile core network 140. As described in greater detailbelow, the base unit(s) 121 may provide a cell operating using a firstfrequency range and/or a cell operating using a second frequency range.

In some embodiments, the remote units 105 communicate with anapplication server 151 via a network connection with the mobile corenetwork 140. For example, an application 107 (e.g., web browser, mediaclient, telephone and/or Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (“VoIP”)application) in a remote unit 105 may trigger the remote unit 105 toestablish a protocol data unit (“PDU”) session (or other dataconnection) with the mobile core network 140 via the RAN 120. The mobilecore network 140 then relays traffic between the remote unit 105 and theapplication server 151 in the packet data network 150 using the PDUsession. The PDU session represents a logical connection between theremote unit 105 and the User Plane Function (“UPF”) 141.

In order to establish the PDU session (or PDN connection), the remoteunit 105 must be registered with the mobile core network 140, alsoreferred to as “attached to the mobile core network” in the context of aFourth Generation (“4G”) system. Note that the remote unit 105 mayestablish one or more PDU sessions (or other data connections) with themobile core network 140. As such, the remote unit 105 may have at leastone PDU session for communicating with the packet data network 150. Theremote unit 105 may establish additional PDU sessions for communicatingwith other data networks and/or other communication peers.

In the context of a 5G system (“5GS”), the term “PDU Session” refers toa data connection that provides end-to-end (“E2E”) user plane (“UP”)connectivity between the remote unit 105 and a specific Data Network(“DN”) through the UPF 141. A PDU Session supports one or more Qualityof Service (“QoS”) Flows. In certain embodiments, there may be aone-to-one mapping between a QoS Flow and a QoS profile, such that allpackets belonging to a specific QoS Flow have the same 5G QoS Identifier(“5QI”).

In the context of a 4G/LTE system, such as the Evolved Packet System(“EPS”), a Packet Data Network (“PDN”) connection (also referred to asEPS session) provides E2E UP connectivity between the remote unit and aPDN. The PDN connectivity procedure establishes an EPS Bearer, i.e., atunnel between the remote unit 105 and a Packet Gateway (“PGW”, notshown) in the mobile core network 140. In certain embodiments, there isa one-to-one mapping between an EPS Bearer and a QoS profile, such thatall packets belonging to a specific EPS Bearer have the same QoS ClassIdentifier (“QCI”).

The base units 121 may be distributed over a geographic region. Incertain embodiments, a base unit 121 may also be referred to as anaccess terminal, an access point, a base, a base station, a Node-B(“NB”), an Evolved Node B (abbreviated as eNodeB or “eNB,” also known asEvolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“E-UTRAN”) Node B),a 5G/NR Node B (“gNB”), a Home Node-B, a relay node, a RAN node, or byany other terminology used in the art. The base units 121 are generallypart of a RAN, such as the RAN 120, that may include one or morecontrollers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding base units121. These and other elements of radio access network are notillustrated but are well known generally by those having ordinary skillin the art. The base units 121 connect to the mobile core network 140via the RAN 120.

The base units 121 may serve a number of remote units 105 within aserving area, for example, a cell or a cell sector, via a wirelesscommunication link 115. The base units 121 may communicate directly withone or more of the remote units 105 via communication signals.Generally, the base units 121 transmit DL communication signals to servethe remote units 105 in the time, frequency, and/or spatial domain.Furthermore, the DL communication signals may be carried over thewireless communication links 115. The wireless communication links 115may be any suitable carrier in licensed or unlicensed radio spectrum.The wireless communication links 115 facilitate communication betweenone or more of the remote units 105 and/or one or more of the base units121. Note that during NR operation on unlicensed spectrum (referred toas “NR-U”), the base unit 121 and the remote unit 105 communicate overunlicensed (i.e., shared) radio spectrum.

In one embodiment, the mobile core network 140 is a 5GC or an EvolvedPacket Core (“EPC”), which may be coupled to a packet data network 150,like the Internet and private data networks, among other data networks.A remote unit 105 may have a subscription or other account with themobile core network 140. In various embodiments, each mobile corenetwork 140 belongs to a single mobile network operator (“MNO”). Thepresent disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementationof any particular wireless communication system architecture orprotocol.

In certain embodiments, the mobile core network 140 also includesmultiple control plane (“CP”) functions including, but not limited to,one or more User Plane Functions (“UPF”) 141, an Access and MobilityManagement Function (“AMF”) 143 that serves the RAN 120, a SessionManagement Function (“SMF”) 145, a Location Management Function (“LMF”)147, a Unified Data Management function (“UDM””) and a User DataRepository (“UDR”). Although specific numbers and types of networkfunctions are depicted in FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art may recognizethat any number and type of network functions may be included in themobile core network 140.

The UPF(s) 141 is/are responsible for packet routing and forwarding,packet inspection, QoS handling, and external PDU session forinterconnecting Data Network (“DN”), in the 5G architecture. The AMF 143is responsible for termination of NAS signaling, NAS ciphering &integrity protection, registration management, connection management,mobility management, access authentication and authorization, securitycontext management. The SMF 145 is responsible for session management(i.e., session establishment, modification, release), remote unit (i.e.,UE) IP address allocation & management, DL data notification, andtraffic steering configuration of the UPF 141 for proper trafficrouting.

The LMF 147 receives measurements from RAN 120 and the remote unit 105(e.g., via the AMF 143) and computes the position of the remote unit105. The UDM is responsible for generation of Authentication and KeyAgreement (“AKA”) credentials, user identification handling, accessauthorization, subscription management. The UDR is a repository ofsubscriber information and may be used to service a number of networkfunctions. For example, the UDR may store subscription data,policy-related data, subscriber-related data that is permitted to beexposed to third party applications, and the like. In some embodiments,the UDM is co-located with the UDR, depicted as combined entity“UDM/UDR” 149.

In various embodiments, the mobile core network 140 may also include aPolicy Control Function (“PCF”) 144 (which provides policy rules to CPfunctions), a Network Repository Function (“NRF”) (which providesNetwork Function (“NF”) service registration and discovery, enabling NFsto identify appropriate services in one another and communicate witheach other over Application Programming Interfaces (“APIs”)), a NetworkExposure Function (“NEF”) (which is responsible for making network dataand resources easily accessible to customers and network partners), anAuthentication Server Function (“AUSF”), or other NFs defined for the5GC. When present, the AUSF may act as an authentication server and/orauthentication proxy, thereby allowing the AMF 143 to authenticate aremote unit 105. In certain embodiments, the mobile core network 140 mayinclude an authentication, authorization, and accounting (“AAA”) server.

In various embodiments, the mobile core network 140 supports differenttypes of mobile data connections and different types of network slices,wherein each mobile data connection utilizes a specific network slice.Here, a “network slice” refers to a portion of the mobile core network140 optimized for a certain traffic type or communication service. Forexample, one or more network slices may be optimized for enhanced mobilebroadband (“eMBB”) service. As another example, one or more networkslices may be optimized for ultra-reliable low-latency communication(“URLLC”) service. In other examples, a network slice may be optimizedfor machine-type communication (“MTC”) service, massive MTC (“mMTC”)service, Internet-of-Things (“IoT”) service. In yet other examples, anetwork slice may be deployed for a specific application service, avertical service, a specific use case, etc.

A network slice instance may be identified by a single-network sliceselection assistance information (“S-NSSAI”) while a set of networkslices for which the remote unit 105 is authorized to use is identifiedby network slice selection assistance information (“NSSAI”). Here,“NSSAI” refers to a vector value including one or more S-NSSAI values.In certain embodiments, the various network slices may include separateinstances of network functions, such as the SMF 145 and UPF 141. In someembodiments, the different network slices may share some common networkfunctions, such as the AMF 143. The different network slices are notshown in FIG. 1 for ease of illustration, but their support is assumed.

As discussed in greater detail below, the remote unit 105 receives ameasurement configuration 125 from the network (e.g., from the LMF 147via RAN 120). The remote unit 105 performs positioning measurement, asdescribed in greater detail below, and sends a positioning report 127 tothe LMF 147. In certain embodiments, the LMF 147 is implemented as astandalone network core function. In some embodiments, the LMF isimplemented in a location server.

While FIG. 1 depicts components of a 5G RAN and a 5G core network, thedescribed embodiments for performing sidelink angular-based and/orSL-RRM based positioning apply to other types of communication networksand RATs, including IEEE 802.11 variants, Global System for MobileCommunications (“GSM”, i.e., a 2G digital cellular network), GeneralPacket Radio Service (“GPRS”), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (“UMTS”), LTE variants, CDMA 2000, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, Sigfox®,and the like.

Moreover, in an LTE variant where the mobile core network 140 is an EPC,the depicted network functions may be replaced with appropriate EPCentities, such as a Mobility Management Entity (“MME”), a ServingGateway (“SGW”), a PGW, a Home Subscriber Server (“HSS”), and the like.For example, the AMF 143 may be mapped to an MME, the SMF 145 may bemapped to a control plane portion of a PGW and/or to an MME, the UPF 141may be mapped to an SGW and a user plane portion of the PGW, the UDM/UDR149 may be mapped to an HSS, etc.

In the following descriptions, the term “RAN node” is used for the basestation but it is replaceable by any other radio access node, e.g., gNB,ng-eNB, eNB, Base Station (“BS”), Access Point (“AP”), etc. Further, theoperations are described mainly in the context of 5G NR. However, theproposed solutions/methods are also equally applicable to other mobilecommunication systems supporting performing sidelink angular-basedpositioning and/or RRM based positioning.

FIG. 2 depicts a NR protocol stack 200, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. While FIG. 2 shows the UE 205, the RANnode 210 and an AMF 215 in a 5G core network (“5GC”), these arerepresentative of a set of remote units 105 interacting with a base unit121 and a mobile core network 140. As depicted, the protocol stack 200comprises a User Plane protocol stack 201 and a Control Plane protocolstack 203. The User Plane protocol stack 201 includes a physical (“PHY”)layer 220, a Medium Access Control (“MAC”) sublayer 225, the Radio LinkControl (“RLC”) sublayer 230, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol(“PDCP”) sublayer 235, and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (“SDAP”)layer 240. The Control Plane protocol stack 203 includes a physicallayer 220, a MAC sublayer 225, a RLC sublayer 230, and a PDCP sublayer235. The Control Plane protocol stack 203 also includes a Radio ResourceControl (“RRC”) layer 245 and a Non-Access Stratum (“NAS”) layer 250.

The AS layer (also referred to as “AS protocol stack”) for the UserPlane protocol stack 201 consists of at least SDAP, PDCP, RLC and MACsublayers, and the physical layer. The AS layer for the Control Planeprotocol stack 203 consists of at least RRC, PDCP, RLC and MACsublayers, and the physical layer. The Layer-2 (“L2”) is split into theSDAP, PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers. The Layer-3 (“L3”) includes the RRClayer 245 and the NAS layer 250 for the control plane and includes,e.g., an Internet Protocol (“IP”) layer and/or PDU Layer (not depicted)for the user plane. L1 and L2 are referred to as “lower layers,” whileL3 and above (e.g., transport layer, application layer) are referred toas “higher layers” or “upper layers.”

The physical layer 220 offers transport channels to the MAC sublayer225. The physical layer 220 may perform a Clear Channel Assessmentand/or Listen-Before-Talk (“CCA/LBT”) procedure. In certain embodiments,the physical layer 220 may send a notification of UL Listen-Before-Talk(“LBT”) failure to a MAC entity at the MAC sublayer 225. The MACsublayer 225 offers logical channels to the RLC sublayer 230. The RLCsublayer 230 offers RLC channels to the PDCP sublayer 235. The PDCPsublayer 235 offers radio bearers to the SDAP layer 240 and/or RRC layer245. The SDAP layer 240 offers QoS flows to the core network (e.g.,5GC). The RRC layer 245 provides for the addition, modification, andrelease of Carrier Aggregation and/or Dual Connectivity. The RRC layer245 also manages the establishment, configuration, maintenance, andrelease of Signaling Radio Bearers (“SRBs”) and Data Radio Bearers(“DRBs”).

The NAS layer 250 is between the UE 205 and the AMF 215 of the corenetwork (e.g., 5GC). NAS messages are passed transparently through theRAN. The NAS layer 250 is used to manage the establishment ofcommunication sessions and for maintaining continuous communicationswith the UE 205 as it moves between different cells of the RAN. Incontrast, the AS layer is between the UE 205 and the RAN (i.e., RAN node210) and carries information over the wireless portion of the network.

RAT-Dependent Positioning Techniques

The following RAT-dependent positioning techniques may be supported bythe system 100:

DL-TDoA: The DL-TDOA positioning method makes use of the DL RSTD (andoptionally DL PRS RSRP) of downlink signals received from multiple TPs,at the UE. The UE measures the DL RSTD (and optionally DL PRS RSRP) ofthe received signals using assistance data received from the positioningserver, and the resulting measurements are used along with otherconfiguration information to locate the UE in relation to theneighboring TPs.

DL-AoD: The DL AoD positioning method makes use of the measured DL PRSRSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TPs, at the UE. The UEmeasures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance datareceived from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements areused along with other configuration information to locate the UE inrelation to the neighboring TPs.

Multi-RTT: The Multi-RTT positioning method makes use of the UE Rx-Txmeasurements and DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multipleTRPs, measured by the UE and the measured gNB Rx-Tx measurements and ULSRS-RSRP at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from UE.

The UE measures the UE Rx-Tx measurements (and optionally DL PRS RSRP ofthe received signals) using assistance data received from thepositioning server, and the TRPs measure the gNB Rx-Tx measurements (andoptionally UL SRS-RSRP of the received signals) using assistance datareceived from the positioning server. The measurements are used todetermine the RTT at the positioning server which are used to estimatethe location of the UE.

E-CID/NR E-CID: Enhanced Cell ID (CID) positioning method, the positionof a UE is estimated with the knowledge of its serving ng-eNB, gNB andcell and is based on LTE signals. The information about the servingng-eNB, gNB and cell may be obtained by paging, registration, or othermethods. NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR E CID) positioning refers to techniqueswhich use additional UE measurements and/or NR radio resource and othermeasurements to improve the UE location estimate using NR signals.

Although NR E-CID positioning may utilize some of the same measurementsas the measurement control system in the RRC protocol, the UE generallyis not expected to make additional measurements for the sole purpose ofpositioning; i.e., the positioning procedures do not supply ameasurement configuration or measurement control message, and the UEreports the measurements that it has available rather than beingrequired to take additional measurement actions.

UL-TDoA: The UL TDOA positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (andoptionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple RPs of uplink signals transmittedfrom UE. The RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) of thereceived signals using assistance data received from the positioningserver, and the resulting measurements are used along with otherconfiguration information to estimate the location of the UE.

UL-AoA: The UL AoA positioning method makes use of the measured azimuthand the zenith of arrival at multiple RPs of uplink signals transmittedfrom UE. The RPs measure A-AoA and Z-AoA of the received signals usingassistance data received from the positioning server, and the resultingmeasurements are used along with other configuration information toestimate the location of the UE.

Table 1 lists various positioning performance requirements for differentscenarios in an IIoT or indoor factory setting. For IIoT in Release 17(“Rel-17”), certain positioning requirements are especially stringentwith respect to accuracy, latency, and reliability.

The apparatuses, methods, and systems disclosed herein facilitateimplementation of sidelink angular-based and SL-RRM-based positioningwith high accuracy, low latency, and high reliability.

TABLE 1 IIoT Positioning Performance Requirements Latency for positionCorresponding Horizontal Vertical estimation UE Positioning Scenarioaccuracy accuracy Availability of UE Speed Service Level Mobile controlpanels <5 m <3 m 90% <5 s N/A Service Level 2 with safety functions(non-danger zones) Process automation - <1 m <3 m 90% <2 s <30 km/hService Level 3 plant asset management Flexible, modular <1 m N/A 99% 1s <30 km/h Service Level 3 assembly area in smart (relative factories(for tracking of positioning) tools at the work-place location)Augmented reality in <1 m <3 m 99% <15 ms <10 km/h Service Level 4 smartfactories Mobile control panels <1 m <3 m 99.9%  <1 s N/A Service Level4 with safety functions in smart factories (within factory danger zones)Flexible, modular <50 cm <3 m 99% 1 s <30 km/h Service Level 5 assemblyarea in smart factories (for autonomous vehicles, only for monitoringproposes) Inbound logistics for <30 cm (if <3 m 99.9%  10 ms <30 km/hService Level 6 manufacturing (for supported driving trajectories (if byfurther supported by further sensors like sensors like camera, camera,GNSS, IMU) of indoor GNSS, autonomous driving IMU) systems)) Inboundlogistics for <20 cm <20 cm 99% <1 s <30 km/h Service Level 7manufacturing (for storage of goods)

The present disclosure describes mechanisms to perform sidelinkpositioning of a term UE. Beneficially, angular-based measurements andlocation estimation facilitate high resolution in terms of accuracy fora target UE. Furthermore, enabling SL AoD/AOA and/or SL RMM basedmeasurements and locations estimation for both anchor UE and non-anchorUE configurations facilitates high accuracy positioning inout-of-coverage scenarios may be especially beneficial for public safetyand V2X scenarios.

Other technologies disclosed herein may be used to enable a target UE toautonomously perform round trip time (RTT) measurements for TX-RXdistance/range computation using multiple beams between multiple pairsof UEs in sidelink. The disclosed RTT measurements for TX-RX distancecomputation may be readily configured, require no network assistance,and be applied for Mode 2 SL operations. Moreover, multiple SL beams canbe exploited to perform accurate RTT measurements in a unicast scenario,while RTT measurements from multiple UEs can also enable mapping of atarget UE's immediate surroundings.

FIG. 1 depicts a wireless communication system 100 for performingsidelink angular/range-based positioning, according to variousembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the wirelesscommunication system 100 includes at least one remote unit 105, a radioaccess network (“RAN”) 120, and a mobile core network 140. The RAN 120and the mobile core network 140 form a mobile communication network. TheRAN 120 may be composed of a base unit 121 with which the remote unit105 communicates using wireless communication links 115. Even though aspecific number of remote units 105, base units 121, wirelesscommunication links 115, RANs 120, and mobile core networks 140 aredepicted in FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art will recognize that anynumber of remote units 105, base units 121, wireless communication links115, RANs 120, and mobile core networks 140 may be included in thewireless communication system 100.

In one implementation, the RAN 120 is compliant with the 5G systemspecified in the Third Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”)specifications. For example, the RAN 120 may be a Next Generation RadioAccess Network (“NG-RAN”), implementing New Radio (“NR”) Radio AccessTechnology (“RAT”) and/or Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) RAT. In anotherexample, the RAN 120 may include non-3GPP RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi® or Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“IEEE”) 802.11-family compliantWLAN). In another implementation, the RAN 120 is compliant with the LTEsystem specified in the 3GPP specifications. More generally, however,the wireless communication system 100 may implement some other open orproprietary communication network, for example WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (“WiMAX”) or IEEE 802.16-familystandards, among other networks. The present disclosure is not intendedto be limited to the implementation of any particular wirelesscommunication system architecture or protocol.

In one embodiment, the remote units 105 may include computing devices,such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants(“PDAs”), tablet computers, smart phones, smart televisions (e.g.,televisions connected to the Internet), smart appliances (e.g.,appliances connected to the Internet), set-top boxes, game consoles,security systems (including security cameras), vehicle on-boardcomputers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, modems), or thelike. In some embodiments, the remote units 105 include wearabledevices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounteddisplays, or the like. Moreover, the remote units 105 may be referred toas the UEs, subscriber units, mobiles, mobile stations, users,terminals, mobile terminals, fixed terminals, subscriber stations, userterminals, wireless transmit/receive unit (“WTRU”), a device, or byother terminology used in the art. In various embodiments, the remoteunit 105 includes a subscriber identity and/or identification module(“SIM”) and the mobile equipment (“ME”) providing mobile terminationfunctions (e.g., radio transmission, handover, speech encoding anddecoding, error detection and correction, signaling and access to theSIM). In certain embodiments, the remote unit 105 may include a terminalequipment (“TE”) and/or be embedded in an appliance or device (e.g., acomputing device, as described above).

The remote units 105 may communicate directly with one or more of thebase units 121 in the RAN 120 via uplink (“UL”) and downlink (“DL”)communication signals. Furthermore, the UL and DL communication signalsmay be carried over the wireless communication links 115. Here, the RAN120 is an intermediate network that provides the remote units 105 withaccess to the mobile core network 140. As described in greater detailbelow, the base unit(s) 121 may provide a cell operating using a firstfrequency range and/or a cell operating using a second frequency range.

In some embodiments, the remote units 105 communicate with anapplication server 151 via a network connection with the mobile corenetwork 140. For example, an application 107 (e.g., web browser, mediaclient, telephone and/or Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (“VoIP”)application) in a remote unit 105 may trigger the remote unit 105 toestablish a protocol data unit (“PDU”) session (or other dataconnection) with the mobile core network 140 via the RAN 120. The mobilecore network 140 then relays traffic between the remote unit 105 and theapplication server 151 in the packet data network 150 using the PDUsession. The PDU session represents a logical connection between theremote unit 105 and the User Plane Function (“UPF”) 141.

In order to establish the PDU session (or PDN connection), the remoteunit 105 must be registered with the mobile core network 140 (alsoreferred to as “attached to the mobile core network” in the context of aFourth Generation (“4G”) system). Note that the remote unit 105 mayestablish one or more PDU sessions (or other data connections) with themobile core network 140. As such, the remote unit 105 may have at leastone PDU session for communicating with the packet data network 150. Theremote unit 105 may establish additional PDU sessions for communicatingwith other data networks and/or other communication peers.

In the context of a 5G system (“5GS”), the term “PDU Session” refers toa data connection that provides end-to-end (“E2E”) user plane (“UP”)connectivity between the remote unit 105 and a specific Data Network(“DN”) through the UPF 141. A PDU Session supports one or more Qualityof Service (“QoS”) Flows. In certain embodiments, there may be aone-to-one mapping between a QoS Flow and a QoS profile, such that allpackets belonging to a specific QoS Flow have the same 5G QoS Identifier(“5QI”).

In the context of a 4G/LTE system, such as the Evolved Packet System(“EPS”), a Packet Data Network (“PDN”) connection (also referred to asEPS session) provides E2E UP connectivity between the remote unit and aPDN. The PDN connectivity procedure establishes an EPS Bearer, i.e., atunnel between the remote unit 105 and a Packet Gateway (“PGW”, notshown) in the mobile core network 140. In certain embodiments, there isa one-to-one mapping between an EPS Bearer and a QoS profile, such thatall packets belonging to a specific EPS Bearer have the same QoS ClassIdentifier (“QCI”).

The base units 121 may be distributed over a geographic region. Incertain embodiments, a base unit 121 may also be referred to as anaccess terminal, an access point, a base, a base station, a Node-B(“NB”), an Evolved Node B (abbreviated as eNodeB or “eNB,” also known asEvolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“E-UTRAN”) Node B),a 5G/NR Node B (“gNB”), a Home Node-B, a relay node, a RAN node, or byany other terminology used in the art. The base units 121 are generallypart of a RAN, such as the RAN 120, that may include one or morecontrollers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding base units121. These and other elements of radio access network are notillustrated but are well known generally by those having ordinary skillin the art. The base units 121 connect to the mobile core network 140via the RAN 120.

The base units 121 may serve a number of remote units 105 within aserving area, for example, a cell or a cell sector, via a wirelesscommunication link 115. The base units 121 may communicate directly withone or more of the remote units 105 via communication signals.Generally, the base units 121 transmit DL communication signals to servethe remote units 105 in the time, frequency, and/or spatial domain.Furthermore, the DL communication signals may be carried over thewireless communication links 115. The wireless communication links 115may be any suitable carrier in licensed or unlicensed radio spectrum.The wireless communication links 115 facilitate communication betweenone or more of the remote units 105 and/or one or more of the base units121. Note that during NR operation on unlicensed spectrum (referred toas “NR-U”), the base unit 121 and the remote unit 105 communicate overunlicensed (i.e., shared) radio spectrum.

In one embodiment, the mobile core network 140 is a 5GC or an EvolvedPacket Core (“EPC”), which may be coupled to a packet data network 150,like the Internet and private data networks, among other data networks.A remote unit 105 may have a subscription or other account with themobile core network 140. In various embodiments, each mobile corenetwork 140 belongs to a single mobile network operator (“MNO”). Thepresent disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementationof any particular wireless communication system architecture orprotocol.

The mobile core network 140 includes several network functions (“NFs”).As depicted, the mobile core network 140 includes at least one UPF 141.The mobile core network 140 also includes multiple control plane (“CP”)functions including, but not limited to, an Access and MobilityManagement Function (“AMF”) 143 that serves the RAN 120, a SessionManagement Function (“SMF”) 145, a Location Management Function (“LMF”)147, a Unified Data Management function (“UDM””) and a User DataRepository (“UDR”). Although specific numbers and types of networkfunctions are depicted in FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art willrecognize that any number and type of network functions may be includedin the mobile core network 140.

The UPF(s) 141 is/are responsible for packet routing and forwarding,packet inspection, QoS handling, and external PDU session forinterconnecting Data Network (DN), in the 5G architecture. The AMF 143is responsible for termination of NAS signaling, NAS ciphering &integrity protection, registration management, connection management,mobility management, access authentication and authorization, securitycontext management. The SMF 145 is responsible for session management(i.e., session establishment, modification, release), remote unit (i.e.,UE) IP address allocation & management, DL data notification, andtraffic steering configuration of the UPF 141 for proper trafficrouting.

The LMF 147 receives measurements from RAN 120 and the remote unit 105(e.g., via the AMF 143) and computes the position of the remote unit105. The UDM is responsible for generation of Authentication and KeyAgreement (“AKA”) credentials, user identification handling, accessauthorization, subscription management. The UDR is a repository ofsubscriber information and may be used to service a number of networkfunctions. For example, the UDR may store subscription data,policy-related data, subscriber-related data that is permitted to beexposed to third party applications, and the like. In some embodiments,the UDM is co-located with the UDR, depicted as combined entity“UDM/UDR” 149.

In various embodiments, the mobile core network 140 may also include aPolicy Control Function (“PCF”) (which provides policy rules to CPfunctions), a Network Repository Function (“NRF”) (which providesNetwork Function (“NF”) service registration and discovery, enabling NFsto identify appropriate services in one another and communicate witheach other over Application Programming Interfaces (“APIs”)), a NetworkExposure Function (“NEF”) (which is responsible for making network dataand resources easily accessible to customers and network partners), anAuthentication Server Function (“AUSF”), or other NFs defined for the5GC. When present, the AUSF may act as an authentication server and/orauthentication proxy, thereby allowing the AMF 143 to authenticate aremote unit 105. In certain embodiments, the mobile core network 140 mayinclude an authentication, authorization, and accounting (“AAA”) server.

In various embodiments, the mobile core network 140 supports differenttypes of mobile data connections and different types of network slices,wherein each mobile data connection utilizes a specific network slice.Here, a “network slice” refers to a portion of the mobile core network140 optimized for a certain traffic type or communication service. Forexample, one or more network slices may be optimized for enhanced mobilebroadband (“eMBB”) service. As another example, one or more networkslices may be optimized for ultra-reliable low-latency communication(“URLLC”) service. In other examples, a network slice may be optimizedfor machine-type communication (“MTC”) service, massive MTC (“mMTC”)service, Internet-of-Things (“IoT”) service. In yet other examples, anetwork slice may be deployed for a specific application service, avertical service, a specific use case, etc.

A network slice instance may be identified by a single-network sliceselection assistance information (“S-NSSAI”) while a set of networkslices for which the remote unit 105 is authorized to use is identifiedby network slice selection assistance information (“NSSAI”). Here,“NSSAI” refers to a vector value including one or more S-NSSAI values.In certain embodiments, the various network slices may include separateinstances of network functions, such as the SMF 145 and UPF 141. In someembodiments, the different network slices may share some common networkfunctions, such as the AMF 143. The different network slices are notshown in FIG. 1 for ease of illustration, but their support is assumed.

As discussed in greater detail below, the remote unit 105 receives ameasurement configuration 125 from the network (e.g., from the LMF 147via RAN 120). In various embodiments, the remote unit 105 performspositioning measurement, as described in greater detail below, and sendsa positioning report 127 to the LMF 147 for performing certain steps ofthe positioning calculations. In some embodiments, (e.g., in scenarioswhere a location server is not immediately available, the target UE isconfigured to perform the sidelink positioning techniques locally.

Some UE positioning methods supported in Rel-16 are listed in Table 2.The separate positioning techniques as indicated in Table 2 may becurrently configured and performed based on the requirements of the LMFand/or UE capabilities. Note that Table 2 includes TBS positioning basedon PRS signals, but only OTDOA based on LTE signals is supported. TheE-CID includes Cell-ID for NR method. The Terrestrial Beacon System(“TBS”) method refers to TBS positioning based on Metropolitan BeaconSystem (“MBS”) signals.

The transmission of Positioning Reference Signals (“PRS”) enables the UE205 to perform UE positioning-related measurements to enable thecomputation of a UE's location estimate and are configured perTransmission Reception Point (“TRP”), where a TRP may transmit one ormore beams.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example 300 of NR beam-basedpositioning, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure. According to Rel-16, the PRS can be transmitted by differentbase stations (serving and neighboring) using narrow beams overFrequency Range #1 Between (“FR1”, i.e., frequencies from 410 MHz to7125 MHz) and Frequency Range #2 (“FR2”, i.e., frequencies from 24.25GHz to 52.6 GHz), which is relatively different when compared to LTEwhere the PRS was transmitted across the whole cell. As illustrated inFIG. 3 , a UE 205 may receive PRS from a first gNB (“gNB #1) 310 whichis a serving gNB, and also from a neighboring second gNB (“gNB #2) 315,and a neighboring third gNB (“gNB #3) 320. Here, the PRS can be locallyassociated with a PRS Resource ID and Resource Set ID for a base station(i.e., TRP). In the depicted embodiments, each gNB 310, 315, 320 isconfigured with a first Resource Set ID 325 and a second Resource Set ID330. As depicted, the UE 205 receives PRS on transmission beams; here,receiving PRS from the gNB #1 310 on PRS Resource ID #1 from the secondResource Set ID 330, receiving PRS from the gNB #2 315 on PSR ResourceID #3 from the second Resource Set ID 330, and receiving PRS from thegNB #3 320 on PRS Resource ID #3 from the first Resource Set ID 325.Within 5G RAN, an NRPPa protocol uses the services provided by a NGAPprotocol. An NRPPa message 335 is carried inside an NGAP message. TheLMF 305 is connected to the NG-RAN node through the AMF 143. The NG-RANnode as a base unit 121 may control several TRPs. Both split NG-RANarchitectures (i.e., CU/DU) and non-split NG-RAN architectures aresupported. A full Description of an NRPPa can be found in 3GPP TS38.455.

Some UE positioning methods supported in Rel-16 are listed in Table 2.The separate positioning techniques as indicated in Table 2 may becurrently configured and performed based on the requirements of the LMFand/or UE capabilities. Note that Table 2 includes TBS positioning basedon PRS signals, but only OTDOA based on LTE signals is supported. TheE-CID includes Cell-ID for NR method. The Terrestrial Beacon System(“TBS”) method refers to TBS positioning based on Metropolitan BeaconSystem (“MBS”) signals.

TABLE 2 Supported Rel-16 UE positioning methods NG-RAN Secure UserUE-assisted, node Plane Location Method UE-based LMF-based assisted(“SUPL”) A-GNSS Yes Yes No Yes (UE-based and UE-assisted) OTDOA No YesNo Yes (UE-assisted) E-CID No Yes Yes Yes, for E-UTRA (UE-assisted)Sensor Yes Yes No No WLAN Yes Yes No Yes Bluetooth No Yes No No TBS YesYes No Yes (MBS) DL-TDOA Yes Yes No No DL-AoD Yes Yes No No Multi-RTT NoYes Yes No NR E-CID No Yes FFS No UL-TDOA No No Yes No UL-AoA No No YesNo

Separate positioning techniques as indicated in Table 2 can be currentlyconfigured and performed based on the requirements of the LMF and UEcapabilities. The transmission of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)enable the UE to perform UE positioning-related measurements to enablethe computation of a UE's location estimate and are configured perTransmission Reception Point (TRP), where a TRP may transmit one or morebeams.

Table 3 lists RS-to-measurements mapping for each of the supportedRAT-dependent positioning techniques at the UE. UE positioningmeasurements such as Reference Signal Time Difference (“RSTD”) and PRSRSRP measurements are made between beams as opposed to different cellsas was the case in LTE. In addition, there are additional UL positioningmethods for the network to exploit in order to compute the target UE'slocation. Table 3 lists the RS-to-measurements mapping required for eachof the supported RAT-dependent positioning techniques at the UE, andTable 4 (below) lists the RS-to-measurements mapping required for eachof the supported RAT-dependent positioning techniques at the gNB.

TABLE 3 UE Measurements to enable RAT-dependent positioning techniquesTo facilitate support DL/UL Reference of the following Signals UEMeasurements positioning techniques Rel-16 DL PRS DL RSTD DL-TDOA Rel-16DL PRS DL PRS RSRP DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, Multi-RTT Rel-16 DL PRS/Rel-16 UE Rx− Tx time difference Multi-RTT SRS for positioning Rel. 15 SSB/CSI-RSSS-RSRP(RSRP for RRM), E-CID for RRM SS-RSRQ(for RRM), CSI-RSRP (forRRM), CSI-RSRQ (for RRM), SS-RSRPB (for RRM)

RAT-dependent positioning techniques involve the 3GPP RAT and corenetwork entities to perform the position estimation of the UE, which aredifferentiated from RAT-independent positioning techniques which rely onGlobal Navigation Satellite System (“GNSS”), Inertial Measurement Unit(“IMU”) sensor, WLAN and Bluetooth technologies for performing targetdevice (i.e., UE) positioning.

Table 4 lists RS-to-measurements mapping for each of the supportedRAT-dependent positioning techniques at the gNB. RAT-dependentpositioning techniques involve the 3GPP RAT and core network entities toperform the position estimation of the UE, which are differentiated fromRAT-independent positioning techniques which rely on GNSS, IMU sensor,WLAN and Bluetooth technologies for performing target device (UE)positioning.

TABLE 4 gNB Measurements to enable RAT- dependent positioning techniquesTo facilitate support DL/UL Reference of the following Signals gNBMeasurements positioning techniques Rel-16 SRS for UL RTOA UL-TDOApositioning Rel-16 SRS for UL SRS-RSRP UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, positioningMulti-RTT Rel-16 SRS for gNB Rx − Tx time Multi-RTT positioning,difference Rel-16 DL PRS Rel-16 SRS for A-AoA and Z-AoA UL-AoA,Multi-RTT positioning,

PRS Design

For 3GPP Rel-16, a DL PRS Resource ID in a DL PRS Resource set isassociated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (a TRP maytransmit one or more beams). A DL PRS occasion is one instance ofperiodically repeated time windows (consecutive slot(s)) where DL PRS isexpected to be transmitted. With regards to QCL relations beyond Type-Dof a DL PRS resource, support one or more of the following options:

-   -   Option 1: QCL-TypeC from an SSB from a TRP.    -   Option 2: QCL-TypeC from a DL PRS resource from a TRP.    -   Option 3: QCL-TypeA from a DL PRS resource from TRP.    -   Option 4: QCL-TypeC from a CSI-RS resource from a TRP.    -   Option 5: QCL-TypeA from a CSI-RS resource from a TRP.    -   Option 6: No QCL relation beyond Type-D is supported.

Note that QCL-TypeA refers to Doppler shift, Doppler spread, averagedelay, delay spread; QCL-TypeB refers to Doppler shift, Doppler spread’;QCL-TypeC refers to Average delay, Doppler shift; and QCL-TypeD refersto Spatial Rx parameter.

For a DL PRS resource, QCL-TypeC from an SSB from a TRP (Option 1) issupported. An ID is defined that can be associated with multiple DL PRSResource Sets associated with a single TRP. An ID is defined that can beassociated with multiple DL PRS Resource Sets associated with a singleTRP. This ID can be used along with a DL PRS Resource Set ID and a DLPRS Resources ID to uniquely identify a DL PRS Resource. Each TRP shouldonly be associated with one such ID.

DL PRS Resource IDs are locally defined within DL PRS Resource Set. DLPRS Resource Set IDs are locally defined within TRP. The time durationspanned by one DL PRS Resource set containing repeated DL PRS Resourcesshould not exceed DL-PRS-Periodicity. ParameterDL-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor is configured for a DL PRS Resource Setand controls how many times each DL-PRS Resource is repeated for asingle instance of the DL-PRS Resource Set. Supported values mayinclude: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32.

In some implementations, signaling may be defined to support any RATdependent positioning technique including hybrid RAT dependentpositioning solutions.

As related to NR positioning, the term “positioning frequency layer”refers to a collection of DL PRS Resource Sets across one or more TRPswhich have: the same SCS and CP type; the same center frequency; thesame point-A; all DL PRS Resources of the DL PRS Resource Set have thesame bandwidth; and/or all DL PRS Resource Sets belonging to the samePositioning Frequency Layer have the same value of DL PRS Bandwidth andStart PRB.

A duration of DL PRS symbols in units of ms may be defined such that aUE can process every T ms assuming 272 PRB allocation is a UEcapability. Duration of DL PRS symbols in units of ms a UE can processevery T ms assuming 272 PRB allocation is a UE capability.

Measurement and Report Configuration

UE measurements which are applicable to DL-based positioning techniquesare discussed below. For a conceptual overview, the assistance dataconfigurations (see FIG. 9 ) and measurement information (see FIG. 10 )are provided for each of the supported positioning techniques.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of DL-TDOA assistance data 400 including aNR-DL-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceData information element (“IE”) that may beused by the location server to provide assistance data to enableUE-assisted and UE-based NR downlink TDOA. It may also be used toprovide NR DL TDOA positioning specific error reason. However, asdepicted, the NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceData IE does not provideassistance data specific to SL angular-based positioning such as theSL-AoD/AoA or SL-RRM positioning techniques disclosed herein.Accordingly, to implement the various embodiments of SL angular and/orSL-RRM-based positioning disclosed herein, it may be useful to use aprovide assistance data IE that includes information specific to SLangular-based positioning such as SL-AoD/AoA or SL-RRM basedpositioning.

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a DL-TDOA measurement report 500 includinga NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation IE that may be used by thetarget device to provide NR-DL TDOA measurements to the location server.The measurements are provided as a list of TRPs, where the first TRP inthe list is used as reference TRP in case RSTD measurements arereported. The first TRP in the list may or may not be the reference TRPindicated in the NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData. Furthermore, the targetdevice selects a reference resource per TRP, and compiles themeasurements per TRP based on the selected reference resource. However,as depicted, the NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation IE does notprovide angle of departure and/or angle or arrival measurementinformation specific to SL angular-based or range-based positioning suchas SL-AoD and/or SL-AoA disclosed herein. Accordingly, to implement thevarious embodiments of SL angular-based positioning disclosed herein, itmay be useful to use an information element that includes informationspecific to SL angular-based positioning such as such as SL-AoD and/orSL-AoA or SL-RRM based positioning.

Further details about the the types of information that may bebeneficially included are described below with respect to tables 6 and 7for SL-TDOA based positioning and table 9 for SL-RRM based positioning.

RAT-Dependent Positioning Measurements

Table 5 lists various DL Measurements used for DL-based positioningmethods. The different DL measurements include DL PRS-RSRP, DL RSTD andUE Rx-Tx Time Difference required for the supported RAT-dependentpositioning techniques are shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 DL Measurements required for DL-based positioning methods DL PRSreference signal received power (DL PRS-RSRP) Definition DL PRSreference signal received power (DL PRS-RSRP), is defined as the linearaverage over the power contributions (in [W]) of the resource elementsthat carry DL PRS reference signals configured for RSRP measurementswithin the considered measurement frequency bandwidth. For frequencyrange 1, the reference point for the DL PRS-RSRP shall be the antennaconnector of the UE. For frequency range 2, DL PRS-RSRP shall bemeasured based on the combined signal from antenna elementscorresponding to a given receiver branch. For frequency range 1 and 2,if receiver diversity is in use by the UE, the reported DL PRS-RSRPvalue shall not be lower than the corresponding DL PRS-RSRP of any ofthe individual receiver branches. Applicable for RRC_CONNECTEDintra-frequency, RRC_CONNECTED inter-frequency DL reference signal timedifference (DL RSTD) Definition DL reference signal time difference (DLRSTD) is the DL relative timing difference between the positioning nodej and the reference positioning node i, defined as T_(SubframeRxj) −T_(SubframeRxi), Where: T_(SubframeRxj) is the time when the UE receivesthe start of one subframe from positioning node j; and T_(SubframeRxi)is the time when the UE receives the corresponding start of one subframefrom positioning node i that is closest in time to the subframe receivedfrom positioning node j. Multiple DL PRS resources can be used todetermine the start of one subframe from a positioning node. Forfrequency range 1, the reference point for the DL RSTD shall be theantenna connector of the UE. For frequency range 2, the reference pointfor the DL RSTD shall be the antenna of the UE. Applicable forRRC_CONNECTED intra-frequency RRC_CONNECTED inter-frequency UE Rx − Txtime difference Definition The UE Rx − Tx time difference is defined asT_(UE-RX) − T_(UE-TX) Where: T_(UE-RX) is the UE received timing ofdownlink subframe #i from a positioning node, defined by the firstdetected path in time; and T_(UE-TX) is the UE transmit timing of uplinksubframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from thepositioning node. Multiple DL PRS resources can be used to determine thestart of one subframe of the first arrival path of the positioning node.For frequency range 1, the reference point for T_(UE-RX) measurementshall be the Rx antenna connector of the UE and the reference point forT_(UE-TX) measurement shall be the Tx antenna connector of the UE. Forfrequency range 2, the reference point for T_(UE-RX) measurement shallbe the Rx antenna of the UE and the reference point for T_(UE-TX)measurement shall be the Tx antenna of the UE. Applicable forRRC_CONNECTED intra-frequency RRC_CONNECTED inter-frequency

The following measurement configurations are specified:

Four pairs of DL RSTD measurements can be performed per pair of cells.Each measurement is performed between a different pair of DL PRSResources/Resource Sets with a single reference timing.

Eight DL PRS RSRP measurements can be performed on different DL PRSresources from the same cell.

Sidelink Angular-Based and SL RRM-Based Positioning

The present disclosure provides various solutions for SL RAT-dependentpositioning techniques related to angular-based and SL RRM-basedmethods: One or more embodiments disclose a method for a target UE toestimate the TX-RX distance between itself and other proximal UEs basedon angular characteristics of the SL PRS signal, e.g.,Angle-of-Departure, Angle-of-Arrival and/or using the SL PRS measurementmetrics.

Beneficially, such embodiments enable multiple SL TRPs/beams fromdifferent UEs to be exploited to perform accurate angular measurements.Furthermore, certain embodiments require only one anchor node with aknown location and in the case of a non-anchor node, location assistanceinformation can be exchanged with the anchor node or with the gNB/LMF(e.g., using Mode 1 operations). Moreover, in one or more embodiments, amethod is disclosed for a target UE and/or LMF to estimate the distancebetween the target UE and one or more UEs as well as absolute orrelative location using SL RRM measurements.

In such embodiments, beneficially, the target UE does not requireSL-specific positioning related reference signals for location ordistance estimation, which reduces signaling overhead and complexity atthe cost of location accuracy. Furthermore, such embodiments may besuited for Mode 2 operations for obtaining the course accuracy of atarget UE and does not depend on network coverage (RAT-independentpositioning).

Multi-antenna systems have enabled the implementation of positioningmethods, which exploit angular measurements at the transmitter (AoD) andreceiver (AoA) to compute the TX-RX distance. The use of angular-basedpositioning techniques in SL can greatly benefit distributed nodes andthe lack of synchronization between nodes can simplify the overallimplementation of such positioning schemes. The use of SL RRMmeasurement can lower the complexity of positioning methods at the costof accuracy and therefore can be applied in scenarios/applications,where course accuracy is required.

Various examples of the disclosed subject matter are disclosed below andreferred to herein as Embodiments 1, 2, and 3. Many aspects ofembodiments 1-3 may be implemented in combination with each other forcertain reasons, such as for example, to achieve an improved locationaccuracy estimate. Moreover, various aspects of embodiments disclosed inU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/063,836 titled “SidelinkTiming-Based Positioning Methods and/or U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/063,824 titled “Apparatuses, Methods, And System ForSL PRS Transmission Methodology which are incorporated herein byreference may be implemented in combination with the embodiments in thisdisclosure.

Embodiment 1: SL-AoD/AoA Positioning

The SL AoD/AoA may also be used to determine the absolute and relativelocation of a SL UE with respect to another reference UE. The advantageof this technique is that the distance/range can be computed using onlyone anchor node and a target UE. This embodiment describes additionalenhancements for SL angular-based positioning methods including SL-AoAand SL-AoD to enhance to the overall location estimation accuracy at thetarget UE.

Embodiment 1a): SL-AoD/AoA Positioning UE-Assisted Procedures

Embodiment 1a discloses certain scenarios where SL-AoD/AoA positioningcan be performed over multiple SL TRPs originating from multiple UEs.This is mainly applicable for UE-assisted positioning and includessignaling mechanisms for the AoD/AoA measurements to be reported to theLMF in addition to the SL-PRS RSRP measurements.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example implementation of a SL-AoD procedure 600for UE-assisted positioning, which can also be extended to be configuredusing multiple TRPs or multiple beams 620 a . . . 620 n, 625 a . . . 625n from multiple anchor nodes 610, 615.

It can be observed that UE-1 610 and UE-2 615 act as reference nodeswith respect to the target UE 605 for the SL-AoD procedure 600.

According to FIG. 6 , it can be noted that the target UE 605 performs atleast two sets of SL-RSRP measurements with respect to UE-1 610 and UE-2615. The target UE 605 then transmits a measurement report 640 to theLMF 635 (Step 2), where the SL-AoD is derived based on the mappingbetween the SL-RSRP of the SL TRP IDs/SL PRS IDs/SL PRS resource set IDand SL transmit beam information (Step 3). The SL TRP ID or SL PRS ID orSL PRS resource set ID describes the unique SL-PRS resource/resource set622 that has been transmitted. The SL-AoD is obtained from the SL TRPID/SL beam ID/SL PRS ID/SL PRS resource set ID with the best SL-PRS RSRPand the AoD may correspond to the azimuth (A-AoD) or zenith (Z-AoD).Prior to the initiation of the SL-AoD procedure, UE-1 610 and UE-2 615may transmit their spatial direction information (e.g., beam informationand/or antenna pattern configurations) to the LMF as indicated in Step 1of FIG. 6 .

The beam information from the associated TRP corresponding to the SL TRPID/SL beam ID/SL PRS ID may be defined with respect to Global CoordinateSystem (GCS) (e.g., PRS azimuth angle measured counter-clockwise fromgeographical North, PRS elevation angle measured relative to zenith andpositive to the horizontal direction (elevation 0 deg. points to zenith,90 deg to the horizon)) or Local Coordinate System (LCS) (e.g., azimuthangle is measured counter-clockwise from the x-axis of the LCS,elevation angle is measured relative to the z-axis of the LCS (elevation0 deg. points to the z-axis, 90 deg to the x-y plane) together with aLCS to GCS translation information (e.g., using angles α (bearingangle), β (downtilt angle) and γ (slant angle) for the translation of aLocal Coordinate System (LCS) to a Global Coordinate System (GCS) asdefined in TR 38.901).

In certain implementations, the mapping procedure may be performed atthe gNB/RSU and shared with the LMF via a dedicated interface, e.g.,NRPPa. In some implementations gNB TRPs may also be measured at thetarget UE 605 and in combination with the SL TRPs may be reported to theLMF 635 for an improved accuracy estimate.

In various implementations, the target UE 605 measures the receivedphase difference at each antenna element, which phase differences may betranslated into AoA measurements and the target UE may use these AoAmeasurements or report the AoA measurements to the LMF 635 per SL TRPID/SL PRS ID/SL PRS resource set ID per UE. In some embodiments, thetarget UE 605 signals both AoA measurements and SL-PRS RSRP measurementsto the LMF 625 or gNB 630 and a mapping between these two parameters perSL TRP ID/SL PRS ID/SL PRS resource set ID can be configured at the LMFor gNB side.

Embodiment 1b): SL-AoD/AoA UE-Based Procedures

Embodiment, 1b discloses SL-AoD/AoA positioning in the context ofUE-based positioning, where the target UE performs the angular-basedmeasurements and computes the location estimate at the target UE asopposed to the LMF (as in Embodiment 1a).

FIG. 7 illustrates an example embodiment of an SL-AoD procedure 700 forUE-based positioning, where the target UE 705 exploits the measuredangles of departure or angles of arrival or both to compute its ownlocation estimate. This can also be extended to be configured usingmultiple beams 720 a . . . 720 n and multiple reference anchor nodes710, 715 or both. In various embodiments, the UE-1 710 and the UE-2 715act as reference nodes with respect to the target UE 705 for the SL-AoDprocedure 700.

Similar to Embodiment 1a), the target UE 705 measures the SL PRS of eachof the SL TRPs/beams 720 a . . . 720 n, 725 a . . . 725 n from differentUEs (UE-1 710) and (UE-2 715). In such embodiments, the UE-1 710 and theUE-2 715 signal the respective AoD beam information corresponding to itsSL PRS transmission with the target UE 705 so that the location estimatemay be computed at the target UE 705. It can be noted that thispositioning procedure can also operate in a RAT-independent fashion,i.e., in out-of-coverage scenarios. The target UE 705 derives the SL-AoDusing the SL TRP ID/SL beam ID/SL PRS ID mapping with the best SL-PRSRSRP and the derived SL-AoD may correspond to the azimuth (A-AoD) orzenith (Z-AoD) planes.

In some implementations, the target UE 705 measures the received phasedifferences at each antenna element and translate these into a AoAmeasurements to utilize these AoA measurements to compute the TX-RXdistance and subsequently its absolute location (for anchor nodes) orrelative location (for non-anchor nodes). Alternatively, the target UE705 may signal both AoA measurements and SL-PRS RSRP measurements to anLMF 635 or gNB 630 or to both and a mapping between the AoA and SL-PRSRSRP parameters per SL TRP ID can be configured at the LMF 635 or gNB630 side.

Embodiment 1c): SL-AoD Configuration and Reporting

Embodiment 1c discloses selected SL configuration parameters that may beutilized to implement Embodiments 1a and 1b.

Table 6 illustrates various SL-AoD/AoA configuration parameterstransmitted by the LMF 635 required at the target UE 605,705. Theseparameters are further differentiated based on the whether theseparameters are required for the LMF 635 (UE-assisted) or SL target UE605,705 (UE-based) to perform the location estimation.

TABLE 6 SL-AoD/AoA Configuration parameters from LMF to UE ConfigurationParameter SL UE-assisted SL UE-based PCI, GCI, RSU ID, Source UE-ID,Destination UE-ID, Zone ID, Yes Yes SL TRP ID/SL-PRS ID of candidate NRSL-TRPs from gNBs/RSUs/SL-UEs/VRUs Timing relative to the serving(reference) TRP of candidate NR Yes Yes TRPs/RSUs/SL-UEs/VRUs SL-PRSconfiguration (e.g., consisting of SL-PRS resource set Yes Yescomprising at least one SL-PRS resource; quasi-collocation relationinformation (QCL reference RS, QCL type/property of SL-PRS resource) ofcandidate NR TRPs SL-SSB information of the TRPs (the time/frequencyoccupancy of Yes Yes SSBs) Spatial direction information (e.g., azimuth,elevation, zenith, etc.,) No Yes of the SL-PRS Resources of the SL TRPsserved by the gNB/RSU/ RSUs/SL-UEs/VRUs Geographical coordinates of theTRPs served by the No Yes gNBs/RSUs/SL-UEs/VRUs (include a transmissionreference location for each SL-PRS Resource/Resource Set ID, referencelocation for the transmitting antenna of the reference TRP, relativelocations for transmitting antennas of other TRPs)

An RSU ID will provide additional information in terms of identifyingwhich RSU would be transmitting SL, while the Zone ID providescomplimentary assistance information for localizing the target UE 605,705 using the V2X zone concept where a cell is partitioned intorectangular grids based on a geographic reference.

Table 7 illustrates various SL-AoD/AoA measurement report parametersfrom UE to LMF. Table shows the exemplary reporting parameters for theSL-AoD/AoA positioning procedure by the target UE 605, 705. If thetarget UE 605, 705 is out-of-coverage, it may signal this report to theLMF 635 as soon as it enters a network coverage area.

TABLE 7 SL-AoD and/or SL-AoA measurement report parameters from UE toLMF Configuration Parameter SL UE-assisted SL UE-basedLatitude/Longitude/Altitude, Yes Yes together with uncertainty shapePCI, GCI, Source UE-ID, Destination Yes Yes UE-ID, SL TRP ID/SL-PRS ID,and Zone ID for each measurement SL PRS-RSRP measurement Yes Yes Timestamp of the measurements Yes Yes Time stamp of location estimate No YesSL-PRS receive beam index No Yes AoD/AoA measurement Yes Yes

When the SL positioning configuration (or SL positioning request) istransmitted by the LMF 635, it may also include the Source L2 ID of thetarget UE 605, 705 and then the Destination L2 ID is transmitted foranchor UEs to transmit the PRS. The SL PRS resource set 622,722 isconfigured per Destination L2 ID. The target UE's report to LMF 635includes the Source L2 ID and the Destination L2 ID for which thepositioning request was transmitted. Furthermore, the report 640 fromthe target UE 605, 705 may multiplex multiple reports from multiplesource/destination L2 IDs.

Embodiment 2: SL-RRM-Based Positioning

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example procedure 800 for userequipment (“UE”)-assisted SL radio resource management (“RRM”)-basedpositioning with one or more UEs serving as reference nodes, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

Embodiment 2 describes a positioning procedure using the SL interface,which exploits SL-RRM measurements to compute the estimated location ofthe target UE 805. The disclosed procedure may also be referred to asSL-Enhanced Cell-Zone ID (SL-ECZID) positioning. Beneficially, variousimplementations of this SL positioning technique are low in complexityand require no transmission of SL-PRS but rather utilize SL RRMmeasurements of sidelink signals from one or more anchor or non-anchorUEs 810, 815. In certain implementations, the SL-RRM measurement arereported to the LMF 835 (in the case of UE-assisted positioning) orcomputed at the target UE 805 (in case of UE-based positioning). Forcertain V2X/positioning applications requiring low-latency and courseaccuracy, SL positioning using RRM could be employed and configured bythe LMF 835 or target UE 805.

In some implementations, the target UE 805 may use existing SL-RRMmeasurements from a unicast session, a groupcast session, or a broadcastsession as illustrated in FIG. 8 or combinations thereof. The target UE805 may be localized using cell identifiers on a cell level, andbeneficially in the case of SL positioning, further granularity may beadded using the Zone ID, which can supplement the cell of origintechnique employed in the Uu interface. In various examples, the SL-RRMmeasurements may be used to estimate the TX-RX distance between thereference nodes, i.e., UE-1 810 and UE-2 815 and thus derive theabsolute location (for anchor nodes) and relative location (non-anchor)with respect to each of these UEs.

In some embodiments, the LMF 835 may trigger the reporting of the SL-RRMmeasurements 820 from the target UE 805. In one or more implementations,the LMF 835 may also request the SL-RRM measurements 820 from theserving gNB/RSU 830 if the target UE 805 has reported this informationto the serving gNB/RSU 830.

In various embodiments, the LMF 835 may also configure the reporting ofmultiple SL-RRM measurements from multiple anchor/non-anchor nodes.

Table 8 depicts various SL-RRM measurements 820 (also referred to asmetrics) for location estimation, such as for example, certain SL-RRMmeasurements to be reported. Other SL metrics or measurements such as SLReference Signal Received Quality (“RSRQ”) andSignal-to-Interference-and-Noise Ratio (“SINR”) may also be utilized incertain implementations. Certain SL RRM measurements 820 are shown inthe Table 8 which may be used by the LMF 835 or the target UE 805 orboth to implement TX-RX distance estimation algorithms that rely on thereceived signal strength, which may not offer the best accuracy whencompared to timing-based positioning techniques but which are lower incomplexity. In some implementations, the SL RRM measurements 820 arereported per SL TRP ID/SL PRS ID/SL PRS resource set ID per Source-UE inorder to associate the correct measurements to the correct source.

TABLE 8 SL-RRM metrics for location estimation SL-RRM Metric DescriptionPSBCH-RSRP (PSBCH reference PSBCH Reference Signal Received Power(PSBCH- signal received power) RSRP) is defined as the linear averageover the power contributions (in [W]) of the resource elements thatcarry demodulation reference signals associated with physical sidelinkbroadcast channel (PSBCH). PSSCH-RSRP (PSSCH reference PSSCH ReferenceSignal Received Power (PSSCH- signal received power) RSRP) is defined asthe linear average over the power contributions (in [W]) of the resourceelements that carry demodulation reference signals associated withphysical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). PSCCH-RSRP (PSCCH referencePSCCH Reference Signal Received Power (PSCCH- signal received power)RSRP) is defined as the linear average over the power contributions (in[W]) of the resource elements that carry demodulation reference signalsassociated with physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). SL RSSI(Sidelink received Sidelink Received Signal Strength Indicator (SLsignal strength indicator) RSSI) is defined as the linear average of thetotal received power (in [W]) observed in the configured sub-channel inOFDM symbols of a slot configured for PSCCH and PSSCH, starting from the2nd OFDM symbol

Various implementations of Embodiment 2 disclose a low complexitySL-ECZID (SL-RRM-based) positioning technique that rely on existing SLmeasurements to localize the target UE 805. In certain implementations,the SL-RRM measurements 820 to be reported may originate from multipleSL TRPs from multiple anchor UE or non-anchor UEs for the absoluteand/or relative location estimation.

Embodiment 3: SL Positioning Capability Exchange Signaling

FIG. 9 depicts an example of a signaling procedure 900 between a targetUE 905 and a location server (LMF) 910. Prior to performing SLpositioning, the LMF 910 may exchange capability signaling with thetarget UE 905 enquiring whether the target UE 905 to be localized hasthe required UE features necessary to perform SL-AoD/AoA or SL-ECZIDpositioning. For example, in some implementations the target UE 905receives 915 a request from a sidelink configuration source such as theLMF 910 to provide capability information related to the SL AoD and/orSL AoA positioning and in response, the target UE 905 transmits 920 therequested capability information related to the SL AoD, and or SL AoA,angular-based positioning to the sidelink configuration source; and

FIG. 10 depicts an example of a signaling procedure 1000 between thetarget UE 1005 and the LMF 1010. The target UE 1005 may also requestpositioning assistance data information for performing SL-AoD/AoA orSL-ECZID positioning. For example, in certain implementations, thetarget UE 1005 transmits 1015 to the sidelink configuration source suchas LMF 1010 a request for assistance data information related to the SLAoD and/or SL AoA positioning and the target UE 1005 receives 1020 therequested assistance data information related to the SL AoD, and or SLAoA, angular-based positioning from the sidelink configuration sourcee.g., the LMF 1010. In some embodiments, entities other than the LMFsuch as UEs, RSUs, gNBs, and the like may serve as sidelinkconfiguration sources.

As one example illustration of improvements over existing systems, thevarious implementations of Embodiment 3 include the necessary capabilityand assistance data information exchange for the respective SL-AoD/AoAand SL-ECZID (SL-RRM-based) positioning techniques.

FIG. 11 depicts a user equipment apparatus 1100 that may be used forsidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning, according toembodiments of the disclosure. In various embodiments, the userequipment apparatus 1100 is used to implement one or more of thesolutions described above. The user equipment apparatus 1100 may be oneembodiment of the remote unit 105 and/or the UE, described above.Furthermore, the user equipment apparatus 1100 may include a processor1105, a memory 1110, an input device 1115, an output device 1120, and atransceiver 1125.

In some embodiments, the input device 1115 and the output device 1120are combined into a single device, such as a touchscreen. In certainembodiments, the user equipment apparatus 1100 may not include any inputdevice 1115 and/or output device 1120. In various embodiments, the userequipment apparatus 1100 may include one or more of: the processor 1105,the memory 1110, and the transceiver 1125, and may not include the inputdevice 1115 and/or the output device 1120.

The processor 1105, in one embodiment, may include any known controllercapable of executing computer-readable instructions and/or capable ofperforming logical operations. For example, the processor 1105 may be amicrocontroller, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (“CPU”), agraphics processing unit (“GPU”), an auxiliary processing unit, a fieldprogrammable gate array (“FPGA”), or similar programmable controller. Insome embodiments, the processor 1105 executes instructions stored in thememory 1110 to perform the methods and routines described herein. Theprocessor 1105 is communicatively coupled to the memory 1110, the inputdevice 1115, the output device 1120, and the transceiver 1125.

In various embodiments, the processor 1105 controls the user equipmentapparatus 1100 to implement UE behavior according to one or more of theabove described embodiments.

The memory 1110, in one embodiment, is a computer readable storagemedium. In some embodiments, the memory 1110 includes volatile computerstorage media. For example, the memory 1110 may include a RAM, includingdynamic RAM (“DRAM”), synchronous dynamic RAM (“SDRAM”), and/or staticRAM (“SRAM”). In some embodiments, the memory 1110 includes non-volatilecomputer storage media. For example, the memory 1110 may include a harddisk drive, a flash memory, or any other suitable non-volatile computerstorage device. In some embodiments, the memory 1110 includes bothvolatile and non-volatile computer storage media.

In some embodiments, the memory 1110 stores data related to sidelinkangular-based and SL RRM-based positioning. For example, the memory 1110may store various parameters, configurations, policies, and the like asdescribed above. In certain embodiments, the memory 1110 also storesprogram code and related data, such as an operating system or othercontroller algorithms operating on the apparatus 1100.

The input device 1115, in one embodiment, may include any known computerinput device including a touch panel, a button, a keyboard, a stylus, amicrophone, or the like. In some embodiments, the input device 1115 maybe integrated with the output device 1120, for example, as a touchscreenor similar touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, the inputdevice 1115 includes a touchscreen such that text may be input using avirtual keyboard displayed on the touchscreen and/or by handwriting onthe touchscreen. In some embodiments, the input device 1115 includes twoor more different devices, such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

The output device 1120, in one embodiment, is designed to output visual,audible, and/or haptic signals. In some embodiments, the output device1120 includes an electronically controllable display or display devicecapable of outputting visual data to a user. For example, the outputdevice 1120 may include, but is not limited to, an LCD display, an LEDdisplay, an OLED display, a projector, or similar display device capableof outputting images, text, or the like to a user. As another,non-limiting, example, the output device 1120 may include a wearabledisplay separate from, but communicatively coupled to, the rest of theuser equipment apparatus 1100, such as a smart watch, smart glasses, aheads-up display, or the like. Further, the output device 1120 may be acomponent of a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a television,a table computer, a notebook (laptop) computer, a personal computer, avehicle dashboard, or the like.

In certain embodiments, the output device 1120 includes one or morespeakers for producing sound. For example, the output device 1120 mayproduce an audible alert or notification (e.g., a beep or chime). Insome embodiments, the output device 1120 includes one or more hapticdevices for producing vibrations, motion, or other haptic feedback. Insome embodiments, all, or portions of the output device 1120 may beintegrated with the input device 1115. For example, the input device1115 and output device 1120 may form a touchscreen or similartouch-sensitive display. In other embodiments, the output device 1120may be located near the input device 1115.

The transceiver 1125 communicates with one or more network functions ofa mobile communication network via one or more access networks. Thetransceiver 1125 operates under the control of the processor 1105 totransmit messages, data, and other signals and also to receive messages,data, and other signals. For example, the processor 1105 may selectivelyactivate the transceiver 1125 (or portions thereof) at particular timesin order to send and receive messages.

The transceiver 1125 includes at least transmitter 1130 and at least onereceiver 1135. One or more transmitters 1130 may be used to provide ULcommunication signals to a base unit 121, such as the UL transmissionsdescribed herein. Similarly, one or more receivers 1135 may be used toreceive DL communication signals from the base unit 121, as describedherein. Although only one transmitter 1130 and one receiver 1135 areillustrated, the user equipment apparatus 1100 may have any suitablenumber of transmitters 1130 and receivers 1135. Further, thetransmitter(s) 1130 and the receiver(s) 1135 may be any suitable type oftransmitters and receivers.

In one embodiment, the transceiver 1125 includes a firsttransmitter/receiver pair used to communicate with a mobilecommunication network over licensed radio spectrum and a secondtransmitter/receiver pair used to communicate with a mobilecommunication network over unlicensed radio spectrum. In certainembodiments, the first transmitter/receiver pair used to communicatewith a mobile communication network over licensed radio spectrum and thesecond transmitter/receiver pair used to communicate with a mobilecommunication network over unlicensed radio spectrum may be combinedinto a single transceiver unit, for example a single chip performingfunctions for use with both licensed and unlicensed radio spectrum. Insome embodiments, the first transmitter/receiver pair and the secondtransmitter/receiver pair may share one or more hardware components. Forexample, certain transceivers 1125, transmitters 1130, and receivers1135 may be implemented as physically separate components that access ashared hardware resource and/or software resource, such as for example,the network interface 1140.

In various embodiments, one or more transmitters 1130 and/or one or morereceivers 1135 may be implemented and/or integrated into a singlehardware component, such as a multi-transceiver chip, asystem-on-a-chip, an ASIC, or other type of hardware component. Incertain embodiments, one or more transmitters 1130 and/or one or morereceivers 1135 may be implemented and/or integrated into a multi-chipmodule. In some embodiments, other components such as the networkinterface 1140 or other hardware components/circuits may be integratedwith any number of transmitters 1130 and/or receivers 1135 into a singlechip. In such embodiment, the transmitters 1130 and receivers 1135 maybe logically configured as a transceiver 1125 that uses one more commoncontrol signals or as modular transmitters 1130 and receivers 1135implemented in the same hardware chip or in a multi-chip module.

FIG. 12 depicts a network equipment apparatus 1200 that may be used forsidelink angular-based and SL RRM-based positioning, according toembodiments of the disclosure. The network equipment apparatus 1200 maybe one embodiment of the base unit 121, RAN node, AMF and/or locationserver, described above. Furthermore, the base network equipmentapparatus 1200 may include a processor 1205, a memory 1210, an inputdevice 1215, an output device 1220, and a transceiver 1225. In someembodiments, the input device 1215 and the output device 1220 arecombined into a single device, such as a touchscreen. In certainembodiments, the network equipment apparatus 1200 may not include anyinput device 1215 and/or output device 1220. In various embodiments, thenetwork equipment apparatus 1200 may include one or more of: theprocessor 1205, the memory 1210, and the transceiver 1225, and may notinclude the input device 1215 and/or the output device 1220.

The processor 1205, in one embodiment, may include any known controllercapable of executing computer-readable instructions and/or capable ofperforming logical operations. For example, the processor 1205 may be amicrocontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, an auxiliary processingunit, a FPGA, or similar programmable controller. In some embodiments,the processor 1205 executes instructions stored in the memory 1210 toperform the methods and routines described herein. The processor 1205 iscommunicatively coupled to the memory 1210, the input device 1215, theoutput device 1220, and the transceiver 1225.

In various embodiments, the network equipment apparatus 1200 is a RANnode. Here, the processor 1205 controls the network equipment apparatus1200 to perform the gNB/RAN behaviors described herein.

In various embodiments, the network equipment apparatus 1200 is an AMF.Here, the processor 1205 controls the network equipment apparatus 1200to perform the AMF behaviors described herein.

In various embodiments, the network equipment apparatus 1200 is alocation server. Here, the processor 1205 controls the network equipmentapparatus 1200 to perform the location server behaviors describedherein.

The memory 1210, in one embodiment, is a computer readable storagemedium. In some embodiments, the memory 1210 includes volatile computerstorage media. For example, the memory 1210 may include a RAM, includingdynamic RAM (“DRAM”), synchronous dynamic RAM (“SDRAM”), and/or staticRAM (“SRAM”). In some embodiments, the memory 1210 includes non-volatilecomputer storage media. For example, the memory 1210 may include a harddisk drive, a flash memory, or any other suitable non-volatile computerstorage device. In some embodiments, the memory 1210 includes bothvolatile and non-volatile computer storage media.

In some embodiments, the memory 1210 stores data related to sidelinkangular-based and SL RRM-based positioning. For example, the memory 1210may store various parameters, configurations, policies, and the like asdescribed above. In certain embodiments, the memory 1210 also storesprogram code and related data, such as an operating system or othercontroller algorithms operating on the network equipment apparatus 1200.

The input device 1215, in one embodiment, may include any known computerinput device including a touch panel, a button, a keyboard, a stylus, amicrophone, or the like. In some embodiments, the input device 1215 maybe integrated with the output device 1220, for example, as a touchscreenor similar touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, the inputdevice 1215 includes a touchscreen such that text may be input using avirtual keyboard displayed on the touchscreen and/or by handwriting onthe touchscreen. In some embodiments, the input device 1215 includes twoor more different devices, such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

The output device 1220, in one embodiment, is designed to output visual,audible, and/or haptic signals. In some embodiments, the output device1220 includes an electronically controllable display or display devicecapable of outputting visual data to a user. For example, the outputdevice 1220 may include, but is not limited to, an LCD display, an LEDdisplay, an OLED display, a projector, or similar display device capableof outputting images, text, or the like to a user. As another,non-limiting, example, the output device 1220 may include a wearabledisplay separate from, but communicatively coupled to, the rest of thenetwork equipment apparatus 1200, such as a smart watch, smart glasses,a heads-up display, or the like. Further, the output device 1220 may bea component of a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, atelevision, a table computer, a notebook (laptop) computer, a personalcomputer, a vehicle dashboard, or the like.

In certain embodiments, the output device 1220 includes one or morespeakers for producing sound. For example, the output device 1220 mayproduce an audible alert or notification (e.g., a beep or chime). Insome embodiments, the output device 1220 includes one or more hapticdevices for producing vibrations, motion, or other haptic feedback. Insome embodiments, all, or portions of the output device 1220 may beintegrated with the input device 1215. For example, the input device1215 and output device 1220 may form a touchscreen or similartouch-sensitive display. In other embodiments, the output device 1220may be located near the input device 1215.

The transceiver 1225 includes at least one transmitter 1230 and at leastone receiver 1235. One or more transmitters 1230 may be used tocommunicate with the UE, as described herein. Similarly, one or morereceivers 1235 may be used to communicate with network functions in thePLMN and/or RAN, as described herein. Although only one transmitter 1230and one receiver 1235 are illustrated, the network equipment apparatus1200 may have any suitable number of transmitters 1230 and receivers1235. Further, the transmitter(s) 1230 and the receiver(s) 1235 may beany suitable type of transmitters and receivers.

In various embodiments, one or more transmitters 1230 and/or one or morereceivers 1235 may be implemented and/or integrated into a singlehardware component, such as a multi-transceiver chip, asystem-on-a-chip, an ASIC, or other type of hardware component. Incertain embodiments, one or more transmitters 1230 and/or one or morereceivers 1235 may be implemented and/or integrated into a multi-chipmodule. In some embodiments, other components such as the networkinterface 1240 or other hardware components/circuits may be integratedwith any number of transmitters 1230 and/or receivers 1235 into a singlechip. In such embodiment, the transmitters 1230 and receivers 1235 maybe logically configured as a transceiver 1225 that uses one more commoncontrol signals or as modular transmitters 1230 and receivers 1235implemented in the same hardware chip or in a multi-chip module.

FIG. 13 depicts one embodiment of a method 1300 for sidelinkangular-based, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.In various embodiments, the method 1300 is performed by at least onetarget UE in a communication network that includes a base station, thetarget User Equipment (UE), at least one reference node, and a LMF thatmay be implemented in a location server. In some embodiments, the one ormore reference nodes and the one target UE are configured to transmit SLPRS or other SL signals over multiple SL TRPs.

In one or more examples, the method 1300 includes receiving 1305 from asidelink configuration source, SL PRS assistance data associated withmultiple SL signal transmissions that serve as reference signaltransmissions such as beam transmissions, antenna panel transmissions,or combinations of both, transmitted from one or more SL signaltransmitting devices such as UEs, RSU, and the like. The method 1300continues and includes receiving 1310 the multiple SL signaltransmissions that server as reference signals from the one or more SLsignal transmitting devices. The method 1300 continues and includes, insome embodiments, performing 1315 SL signal angle of arrival (“AoA”)measurements of the received SL reference signal transmissions and invarious embodiments performing SL reference signal reference signalreceived power (“RSRP”) measurements for deriving angle of departure(AoD) calculations which are then mapped to the received SL RSRPmeasurements for determining an estimated location of the target UEusing SL AoD or SL AoA positioning techniques or combinations thereof.

Although the method 1300 is depicted from a UE perspective,corresponding steps may be performed by other entities in thecommunications network such as location servers, LMFs, gNB, RSUs, and soforth. In some embodiments, the method 1300 is performed by one or moreprocessors, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU,an auxiliary processing unit, a FPGA, or the like.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of a method 1400 for SL RRM-basedpositioning, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Insome embodiments, the method is for a location server in a communicationnetwork comprising at least a base station, at least oneanchor/non-anchor reference node, a least one target UE to be localized,and the location server, wherein the anchor reference node and/or thenon-anchor reference node transmit a SL beam-based unicast signal and/ora groupcast signal and/or a broadcast signal via the PSBCH, PSCCH,and/or PSSCH for the purposes of providing control and/or data and/orpositioning.

For example, in various embodiments, method 1400 includes performing1405 one or more sidelink (“SL”) radio resource management (“RRM”)measurements such as measurements of: physical sidelink broadcastchannel (“PSBCH”) reference signal received power (“RSRP”), physicalsidelink shared channel (“PSSCH”) RSRP, physical sidelink controlchannel (“PSCCH”) RSRP, SL channel-state reference signals (“CSI-RS”),SL synchronization signals (“SLSS”), and combinations thereof. Themethod 1400 may include performing 1405 measurements of other SLparameters such as for example, SL Channel Occupancy Ratio, SL ChannelBusy Ratio, or other SL measurements. The method 1400 continues andincludes determining 1410 an estimated location of the target UE basedon selected SL-RRM measurements. In certain implementations, in responseto being configured for UE-assisted SL range-based positioning, themethod includes reporting the selected RRM measurements to an LMFconfigured to estimate the location of the target UE based on thereported RRM measurements.

The method 1400 begins the location server configures 1405 the target UEto report the SL-RRM metrics if configured with the SL-RRM-based(SL-ECZID) positioning technique. The method 1400 continues and thelocation server processes 1410 the SL-RRM measurements from the targetUE to calculate the absolute location and/or relative location withrespect to other anchor and/or non-anchor UEs. The method 1400 ends.Although the method 1400 is depicted from a UE perspective,corresponding steps may be performed by other entities in thecommunications network such as location servers, LMFs, gNB, RSUs, and soforth. In various embodiments, the method 1400 is performed by aprocessor, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, anauxiliary processing unit, a FPGA, or the like.

Various actions of the method 1300 and the method 1400 may be performedby one or more apparatuses similar to those shown or described in one ormore examples of the disclosure.

An apparatus for localizing a target UE in a communication network usingsidelink (“SL”) positioning, the apparatus including a target UE thatincludes a processor, memory, and program code executable by theprocessor to cause the target UE to: receive from a sidelinkconfiguration source multiple SL PRS assistance data associated withmultiple SL signal transmissions that serve as reference signaltransmissions such as beam transmissions, antenna panel transmissions,or combinations thereof, transmitted from one or more SL signaltransmitting devices. The apparatus may receive the SL reference signaltransmissions from the one or more SL signal transmitting devices andmay perform SL signal angle of arrival (“AoA”) measurements of thereceived SL reference signal transmissions and may perform SL referencesignal reference signal received power (“RSRP”) measurements forderiving angle of departure (AoD) calculations mapped to the received SLRSRP measurements for determining an estimated location of the target UEusing SL AoD or SL AoA positioning techniques or combinations thereof.

In certain embodiments, the sidelink configuration source is selectedfrom a Roadside Unit (“RSU”), a Location Management Function (“LMF”), ora UE other than the target UE and the one or more sidelink transmittingdevices are selected from RSUs and UEs other than the target UE.

In some embodiments, in response to being configured for UE-based SLangular-based positioning, the target UE determines its estimatedlocation based on the configured SL AoA measurements and/or the derivedSL AoD calculations mapped to the SL RSRP measurements. In one or moreembodiments, in response to being configured for UE-assisted SLangular-based positioning, the target UE reports the SL AoA measurementsand/or the SL RSRP measurements to an LMF configured to estimate thelocation of the target UE based on the SL AoA measurements or based onderived SL AoD calculations mapped to the reported SL RSRP measurementsor combinations thereof.

In various embodiments, the received SL signal transmissions include SLsignals such as SL synchronization signals (“SLSS”), SL channel-stateinformation reference signals (SL CSI-RS), SL positioning referencesignals (“SL PRS), and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thetarget-UE is configured with a set of IDs selected from: RSU ID, SourceUE-ID, Destination UE-ID; Zone ID; SL TRP ID; SL PRS ID; andcombinations thereof configured to uniquely identify SL reference signalresources to be measured and/or reported by the target-UE.

In certain embodiments, the estimated location of the target UE is basedon the derived AoD calculations using further spatial directioninformation selected from azimuth, elevation, zenith, and combinationsthereof, corresponding to the received SL signal transmissions. In someembodiments, the estimated location of the target UE is determined for aconfigured SL AoA based positioning technique using measured phasedifferences of the SL signal transmissions received at a plurality ofreceive antenna elements of the target UE.

In various embodiments, the SL signal transmissions received by thetarget UE are configured and measured at a plurality of time instancescorresponding to points along a trajectory of the target UE. In one ormore embodiments, in response to being configured for UE-assistedangular-based positioning, the target UE reports to the LMF, an SL beamindex corresponding to a plurality of SL-PRS resource sets.

A further apparatus for a communication network for localizing a targetUE includes a target UE that includes a processor, memory, and programcode executable by the processor to cause the target UE to perform oneor more sidelink (“SL”) radio resource management (“RRM”) measurementssuch as measurements of: physical sidelink broadcast channel (“PSBCH”)reference signal received power (“RSRP”), physical sidelink sharedchannel (“PSSCH”) RSRP, physical sidelink control channel (“PSCCH”)RSRP, SL channel-state reference signals (“CSI-RS”), SL synchronizationsignals (“SLSS”), and combinations thereof. In various embodiments, inresponse to being configured for UE-based SL range-based positioning,the target UE determines its estimated location based on the selectedRRM measurements. In some embodiments, in response to being configuredfor UE-assisted SL range-based positioning, report the selected RRMmeasurements to an LMF configured to estimate the location of the targetUE based on the reported RRM measurements.

In some embodiments, the target UE differentiates the selected RRMmeasurements based on identification such as RSU ID, source UE ID,destination UE ID, or combinations thereof. In one or more embodiments,granularity of the estimated location calculation of the target UE isenhanced by using a zone ID corresponding to the target UE at receipt ofthe SL reference signal transmissions.

In various embodiments, the target UE performs of or more of thefollowing actions: receiving a request from the sidelink configurationsource to provide capability information related to the SL AoD and/or SLAoA positioning and in response, transmitting the requested capabilityinformation related to the SL AoD, and or SL AoA, angular-basedpositioning to the sidelink configuration source; and transmitting tothe sidelink configuration source a request for assistance datainformation related to the SL AoD and/or SL AoA positioning andreceiving the requested assistance data information related to the SLAoD, and or SL AoA, angular-based positioning from the sidelinkconfiguration source.

In certain embodiments, the target UE performs of or more of thefollowing actions: receiving a request from the sidelink configurationsource to provide capability information related to the SL RRMrange-based positioning and in response, transmitting the requestedcapability information related to the SL RRM-based positioning to thesidelink configuration source; and transmitting to the sidelinkconfiguration source a request for assistance data information relatedto the SL RRM range-based positioning and receiving the requestedassistance data information related to the SL RRM range-basedpositioning from the sidelink configuration source.

A method for sidelink based positioning of a target UE in acommunication network, the method selected from a first set of sidelinkangular-based positioning techniques that may be selected from SL AoApositioning, SL AoD positioning, or combinations thereof, and a secondset of sidelink positioning techniques based on SL-Radio ResourceManagement (‘RRM”) measurements, where the first sidelink positioningtechnique that is SL angular-based includes: receiving a plurality of SLPRS assistance data associated with a plurality of SL signaltransmissions that serve as reference signal transmissions and areselected from beam transmissions, and antenna panel transmissions, orcombinations thereof, transmitted from one or more SL signaltransmitting devices; receiving the SL reference signal transmissionsfrom the one or more SL signal transmitting devices; and performingconfigured measurements selected from: SL angle of arrival (“AoA”)measurements of the received SL reference signal transmissions fordetermining an estimated location of the target UE using SL AoApositioning techniques; SL reference signal received power (“RSRP”)measurements for deriving angle of departure (AoD) calculations mappedto the received SL reference signal transmissions for determining anestimated location of the target UE using SL AoD positioning techniques;and combinations thereof.

In certain embodiments, the second sidelink positioning technique thatis SL RRM-based includes: performing one or more sidelink (“SL”) radioresource management (“RRM”) measurement such as measurements of:physical sidelink broadcast channel (“PSBCH”) reference signal receivedpower (“RSRP”), physical sidelink shared channel (“PSSCH”) RSPR,physical sidelink control channel (“PSCCH”) RSRP, SL channel-statereference signals (“CSI-RS”), SL synchronization signals (“SLSS”), andcombinations thereof. The method further includes determining theestimated location of the target UE based on the selected RRMmeasurements.

Embodiments may be practiced in other specific forms. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

1. A user equipment (“UE”) apparatus comprising: a processor; and amemory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructionsexecutable by the processor to cause the UE apparatus to: receive from asidelink configuration source a plurality of sidelink (“SL”) positioningreference signal (“PRS”) assistance data associated with a plurality ofSL signal transmissions that serve as reference signal transmissions andare selected from beam transmissions, antenna panel transmissions, or acombination thereof, transmitted from one or more SL signal transmittingdevices; receive the SL reference signal transmissions from the one ormore SL signal transmitting devices; and perform SL signal angle ofarrival (“AoA”) measurements of the received SL reference signaltransmissions or perform SL reference signal reference signal receivedpower (“RSRP”) measurements for deriving angle of departure (“AoD”)calculations mapped to the received SL RSRP measurements for determiningan estimated location of the UE apparatus using SL AoD positioningtechniques, SL AoA positioning techniques, or a combination thereof. 2.The UE apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the sidelink configuration sourceis selected from a Roadside Unit (“RSU”), a Location Management Function(“LMF”), or a UE other than the UE apparatus; the one or more sidelinktransmitting devices are selected from RSUs and UEs other than the UEapparatus, wherein: in response to being configured for UE-based SLangular-based positioning, the instructions are further executable bythe processor to cause the UE apparatus to determine its estimatedlocation based on the configured SL AoA measurements and/or the derivedSL AoD calculations mapped to the SL RSRP measurements; and in responseto being configured for UE-assisted SL angular-based positioning, theinstructions are further executable by the processor to cause the UEapparatus to report the SL AoA measurements and/or the SL RSRPmeasurements to an LMF.
 3. The UE apparatus of claim 1, wherein thereceived SL signal transmissions comprise SL signals selected from SLsynchronization signals (“SLSS”), SL channel-state information referencesignals (“SL CSI-RS”), SL PRS, or a combination thereof.
 4. The UEapparatus of claim 2, wherein the UE apparatus is configured with a setof identifiers (“IDs”) selected from: RSU identifier (“ID”), SourceUE-ID, Destination UE-ID; Zone ID; SL transmission reception point(“TRP”) ID; SL PRS ID; or a combination thereof configured to uniquelyidentify SL reference signal resources to be measured and/or reported bythe UE apparatus.
 5. The UE apparatus of claim 2, wherein the estimatedlocation of the UE apparatus is based on the derived AoD calculationsusing further spatial direction information selected from azimuth,elevation, zenith, or a combination thereof, corresponding to thereceived SL signal transmissions.
 6. The UE apparatus of claim 1,wherein the estimated location of the UE apparatus is determined for aconfigured SL AoA based positioning technique using measured phasedifferences of the SL signal transmissions received at a plurality ofreceive antenna elements of the UE apparatus.
 7. The UE apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the SL signal transmissions received by the UEapparatus are configured and measured at a plurality of time instancescorresponding to points along a trajectory of the UE apparatus.
 8. TheUE apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to being configured forUE-assisted angular-based positioning, the UE apparatus reports to alocation management function (“LMF”), an SL beam index corresponding toa plurality of SL-PRS resource sets.
 9. A user equipment (“UE”)apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to theprocessor, the memory comprising instructions executable by theprocessor to cause the UE apparatus to: perform one or more sidelink(“SL”) radio resource management (“RRM”) measurements selected frommeasurements of: physical sidelink broadcast channel (“PSBCH”) referencesignal received power (“RSRP”), physical sidelink shared channel(“PSSCH”) RSRP, physical sidelink control channel (“PSCCH”) RSRP, SLchannel-state reference signals (“CSI-RS”), SL synchronization signals(“SLSS”), or a combination thereof; and in response to being configuredfor UE-based SL range-based positioning, determine its estimatedlocation based on the selected RRM measurements; and in response tobeing configured for UE-assisted SL range-based positioning, report theselected RRM measurements to a location management function (“LMF”)configured to estimate the location of the UE apparatus based on thereported RRM measurements.
 10. The UE apparatus according to claim 9,wherein the UE apparatus differentiates the selected RRM measurementsbased on identification selected from Roadside Unit (“RSU”) Identifier(“ID”), source UE ID, destination UE ID, or a combination thereof. 11.The UE apparatus of claim 10, wherein granularity of the estimatedlocation calculation of the UE apparatus is enhanced by using a zone IDcorresponding to the UE apparatus at receipt of the SL reference signaltransmissions.
 12. The UE apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructionsare further executable by the processor to cause the UE apparatus toperform one or more of the following actions: receive a request from thesidelink configuration source to provide capability information relatedto the SL angle of departure (“AoD”) and/or SL angle of arrival (“AOA”)positioning and in response, transmitting the requested capabilityinformation related to the SL AoD, and or SL AoA, angular-basedpositioning to the sidelink configuration source; and transmit to thesidelink configuration source a request for assistance data informationrelated to the SL AoD and/or SL AoA positioning and receiving therequested assistance data information related to the SL AoD, and or SLAoA, angular-based positioning from the sidelink configuration source.13. The UE apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the UE apparatus to perform one ormore of the following actions: receive a request from the sidelinkconfiguration source to provide capability information related to the SLRRM range-based positioning and in response, transmitting the requestedcapability information related to the SL RRM-based positioning to thesidelink configuration source; and transmit to the sidelinkconfiguration source a request for assistance data information relatedto the SL RRM range-based positioning and receiving the requestedassistance data information related to the SL RRM range-basedpositioning from the sidelink configuration source.
 14. A method forsidelink based positioning of a target user equipment (“UE”) in acommunication network, the method selected from a first set of sidelink(“SL”) angular-based positioning techniques selected from SL angle ofarrival (“AOA”) positioning, SL angle of departure (“AoD”) positioning,or combinations thereof, and a second set of sidelink positioningtechniques based on SL-Radio Resource Management (“SL RRM”)measurements, wherein: the first sidelink positioning technique that isSL angular-based comprises: receiving a plurality of SL positioningreference signals (“SL PRS”) assistance data associated with a pluralityof SL signal transmissions that serve as reference signal transmissionsand are selected from beam transmissions, and antenna paneltransmissions, or combinations thereof, transmitted from one or more SLsignal transmitting devices; receiving the SL reference signaltransmissions from the one or more SL signal transmitting devices;performing configured measurements selected from: SL AoA measurements ofthe received SL reference signal transmissions for determining anestimated location of the target UE using SL AoA positioning techniques;SL reference signal received power (“RSRP”) measurements for derivingAoD calculations mapped to the received SL reference signaltransmissions for determining the estimated location of the target UEusing SL AoD positioning techniques; or a combination thereof.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the second sidelink positioning techniquethat is SL RRM-based comprises: performing one or more sidelink (“SL”)radio resource management (“RRM”) measurement selected from measurementsof: physical sidelink broadcast channel (“PSBCH”) reference signalreceived power (“RSRP”), physical sidelink shared channel (“PSSCH”)RSPR, physical sidelink control channel (“PSCCH”) RSRP, SL channel-statereference signals (“CSI-RS”), SL synchronization signals (“SLSS”), or acombination thereof; and determining the estimated location of thetarget UE based on the selected RRM measurements.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the target UE differentiates the selected RRMmeasurements based on identification selected from roadside unit (“RSU”)identifier (“ID”), source UE ID, destination UE ID, or a combinationthereof.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the received SL signaltransmissions comprise SL signals selected from SL synchronizationsignals (“SLSS”), SL channel-state information reference signals (“SLCSI-RS”), SL PRS, or a combination thereof.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein the estimated location of the target UE is based on the derivedAoD calculations using further spatial direction information selectedfrom azimuth, elevation, zenith, or a combination thereof, correspondingto the received SL signal transmissions; and wherein the estimatedlocation of the target UE is determined for a configured SL AoA basedpositioning technique using measured phase differences of the SL signaltransmissions received at a plurality of receive antenna elements of thetarget UE.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the SL signaltransmissions received by the target UE are configured and measured at aplurality of time instances corresponding to points along a trajectoryof the target UE.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein in response tobeing configured for UE-assisted angular-based positioning, the targetUE reports to a Location Management Function (“LMF”), an SL beam indexcorresponding to a plurality of SL-PRS resource sets.